For as long as I have been a church-going Christian (basically, most of my life), pastors have begun sermons with a joke, an interesting story, or ancedote. If the story isn’t amusing, entertaining, or well-told, something crucial is lost, we start checking our watches. Even if the story may be technically accurate, it will fall flat, and probably not permeate the carefully constructed barrier surrounding the average person’s soul. But truly amusing or captivating stories contain, at the very least, some kernel of truth. The funniest jokes are those where you end up saying “That is so true!” It is the secret to the success of comedian Jerry Seinfeld whose clever observations of our mundane lives have us ROTFLMHO ( That’s the Christian version – Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** Hinnie Off). Nowdays, we have the Church Video to add to this arsenal to help wake up the pew-sitters. A new tool with which we can use the time-honored phrase “If that doesn’t light your fire, maybe your wood’s wet!” A personal (guilty church pleasure) favorite of mine.
The recent flurry of activity surrounding to Gary’s piece on Collide about Church Video Standards, prompted me to add my voice to the discussion. There are many beliefs that I hold dear to my heart that seem to go hand in hand with this topic. Primarily, the true nature of beauty. His statement that … “Content in not King. Beauty is” has rattled many in the church media community, perhaps as it should, due to our long standing belief that Content is King and that form is secondary to function. Bad news Content, you’ve just been de-throned! Ok, well, maybe its not as simple as all that. Let’s take a look at beauty, and get to the heart of what I believe Gary is really on to here.
For me, I believe that beauty is inextricable from truth. I don’t believe that you can have one without the other. There are those that would argue that there may be many cases where you view art that is well-crafted, and visually pleasing, but tells a story that goes against fundamental principals that we hold to be true. To this I would say “You are correct Sir (or madam)!”
But “every good an perfect gift comes from God.”-James 1:7 Without God there would be no such thing as beautiful lighting, creative camera angles, the golden ratio, faithful rendition through clever codecs, etc. It is only by the true creator that we have these means to tell whatever story is being told. Whether or not we agree with the message, if the medium is done artfully, it contains truth. The reality is that none of our messages, be they conveyed with words printed or spoken, sung, played, filmed or otherwise, will be a completely accurate portrait of the Truth. And this I believe is due to the fact that we are doing our best to know and understand an infinite God with finite minds. Everything we do to try and understand Him, is but a small reflection of some facet of His nature. A great question is, to what purpose are we using these “reflections of truth.” They can some times be muddied and manipulated to serve our own agendas, but in doing so, the human condition is exposed, and we are left with an opportunity to see our true relationship to the Creator.
I believe that God leaves clues to the nature of this relationship in His creation. Consider the way in which our eyes work. We must have light to see. Everything we take in through our visual senses, is a reflection of light. Everything looks the way it does, based on the way that it reflects light. It is dependant on light to be seen. Apart from light, there can be no color. Apart from God, apart from Truth, there can be no beauty.
It is a wonder to me that God in his infinite creativity, wisdom and knowledge made trees. Trees with which we would harvest wood to not only build shelter, but craft into instruments like violins, guitars, etc. Take a moment to listen to a cello played by someone like Yo Yo Ma, and tell me if you can’t hear the voice of God on some level. Even when these instruments are coupled with lyrics or ideas that run contrary to our deep beliefs, the almost mystical beauty that comes from the reverberating wooden hollows belongs to God and would fail to exist apart from him. Its amazing that he entrusts us with such beauty.
Now beauty is a very large thing. It encompases such a vast expanse of the human experience and imagination, that it allows us to develop things such as taste. As we know, what may beautiful to one, is not beautiful to all. This subjectivity is part of God’s plan. It is part of His infinite nature. It tells us more of our particular nature, our particular conditioning based on our experiences, than it does our ability to judge objectively what is beautiful or ugly. Our personal experiences determine our proclivity for one thing to resonate as more beautiful or true than another. It is a combination of our rational mind, paired with our emotional heart, that we determine whether something is really of value, and worthy of living, or changing our lives for. If it looks, sounds, and feels good, but we can not intellectually get behind it, we are not fully committed to it. The converse is also true. It must contain both elements to be truly soul-satisfying.
When it comes to having a Standard for Church Videos, I believe the best way for this to occur is to develop within both the producers and the consumers, an understanding of what will best illuminate the truths that have been given us through the bible and the lives we live in relationship with God. Being a subjective thing, it would be impossible to put to fine a point on what is “correct” video/filmmaking practice. For most every rule, you can probably find a good example of someone who has broken it, and been the better for doing so. The question should be, does this piece resonate with truth? Can it cut through our defenses, and permeate both our hearts and minds? As, Christians, we should strive not to simply mimic the quality and styles of those who believe differently than we do. It should be to find truth and honor it in a way that is useful, and pleasing to God, the greatest artist of all.
I was doing some thinking yesterday about which is a more effective way of bringing about change. Is it from within “the system†or from without? The argument for affecting change from within a given system, is that you have access to “the strings†or “the gears†that make that system move. In this way you are able to make changes more easily because you can fix what is broken while leaving functioning portions working. The argument against this usually charges this idea as being too weak, and not radical enough. Better to have total revolution and start from scratch.
I have always felt an internal struggle myself with where I stand regarding this. I have a desire to be a radical or revolutionary. But when it comes time to do this, the people-pleasing side of me holds back, at least somewhat. Sometimes I have “big ideas†but when someone (who I gauge as not on board, or not able to understand my sheer brilliance) asks about this, I may water it down or scale back, for fear of a blank stare, or an “Ohhh…That’s…..interesting (cuckoo!).â€
So I was thinking, I often end up feeling somewhat moderate I guess. Big idea fuel in a Ford Escort. I say to myself, “This is because you are afraid to be really revolutionary!†and while there may be some truth to this. I do believe there is value to this position, so long as you stay true to your ideals. Really, I think that the trick is not to be afraid to be within the system and use something that works and toss away what doesn’t. Be experimental, but don’t reinvent the wheel every time you need to put something in motion. A wheel is a wheel, its round for a reason. Just don’t let it continually take you to the same old places all the time.
So with a local coffee shop closing, the now familiar conversation comes up again. “Did you hear about Koffeeheads? Yeah, its a shame, it was a cool place. Great coffee. I just found it easier to go to one of the 5 Starbucks on the way to work.†There are those who talk about Evil Evil McStarbucks and their corporate coffee. But I think all in all, they do a pretty good job of providing something necessary. Something that was missing from many companies in America. They provide well for their employees and offer good opportunities for advancement. They try to be environmentally and socially conscious, etc. I am sure that they aren’t perfect. No one is. But I am sure as most companies go, they are not the worst of the bunch.
So is it better to be a revolutionary a la Che Guevara, or to be like Starbucks serving up Chai Tea and providing opportunities for improvement to those around you in some way? Maybe this is my 30 year old Dad of 3 stance, but I think if we truly pray for the wisdom to discern when to revolutionize and when to revitalize, we may find revitalization the more valuable option more often than not. Not all the time, mind you, but maybe more than we would imagine.
I love the new AT&T (formerly Cingular, formerly AT&T, formerly Cingular…) commercial that features a dialogue between a mother and daughter that I am sure is pretty commonplace in many households. Thankfully, my kids aren’t old enough to have their own phones yet so that is speculation on my part. It is the age-old struggle of responsibility vs. privilege set in a contemorary context with even more contemporary language.
Check it out if you haven’t seen it yet.
I am always interested in how technology is changing our culture and this commercial hilariously demonstrates how this happens all the time. It also made me consider how I talk to God. Often times it is relegated to short bursts of repetitive cliches. I sort of send out quick spiritual text messages to him that are often so similar to previous contacts that I might as well use shorthand. I suppose the Holy Spirit will translate this for me if God is not hip to the lingo. Thankfully we do have unlimited calling on that plan, although do I really use it that much?
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with the concept of “breath prayers.†I think that is very healthy to turn to God to trust him, to release, to quiet ourselves without having to go through some long formal process. What I want to challenge in myself is rushing my communication with God. Often times, I struggle with the idea that God already knows what is on my heart, do I really have to say all the words. I think the answer is yes and no. I don’t have to say them for God to know and understand and maybe even respond to me. He is full of Grace like that! However, I know that the more time I spend in conversation and meditation with Him, the more he reveals to me and the deeper our relationship grows.
So anyway, I will still probably “text†God, but I want to make sure that I have a much more balanced communication with him the same as I would with any friend. Hopefully more so.
My friends and I were discussing this a while back, and realizing that all too often, we push risk aside because we are afraid of failure. I know that I often become stymied because I am more afraid of failure than I am attracted to success. When I say success, I don’t necessarily mean, monetary or any other particular standard. I simply mean achieving my goals. Quite honestly, I just don’t want to look like an idiot.
So today marks the one year anniversary of Floodgate Productions being open for business as a 3-man crew. We all just took some of the biggest risks of our lives, and God has taken care of us better than we could have even hoped. There have been many questions and doubts along the way, but we have seen that the bigger the steps we take in faith, the more ground we cover.
I also took a big step personally in applying to CalArts MFA program. The thing is, I have shared this with many people now. It doesn’t totally worry me if I don’t get in. I have a great future otherwise, doing what I’m already doing. My fear exists mostly in having to explain to people if I don’t get in. But I am starting to realize that the pursuit has many benefits, even if I don’t get in. It has brought me and my wife closer as we talk through how our lives would change, seeing her unyielding support for me. It has brought me closer to my friends/partners at Floodgate as we discuss how to make a long-distance work relationship happen.
So here’s to failure and success, and simply moving forward. I am hopeful for many new and unexpected challenges and steps of faith yet to take.
I have been struck recently, by the seeming convergence of some interesting developments in the secular culture and Christianity. Often times, such a convergence creates suspicion and skepticism, as we are called as Christians to be in the world, but not of the world. However, I believe that this is often misinterpreted into too broad a fashion.
What I have noticed, and experienced, is a desire for a more active role on the part of communities, in determining the framework of systems that affect them. We live in an age where networking has become an integral part of many of our lives. I realize that I am speaking from a relatively priveleged Western circumstance, but please permit me, if you will, to speak from where I am able.
The advent of Open Source mentality seems to be finding its way into the Christian community. By this, I mean that many Christians are contributing to the discussion of redefining what Christian faith looks like. Perhaps this is a pendulum swing back towards the reformation era, where the laity is more directly involved in progressing their own faith and developing a deeper understanding of biblical truth.
There can be a tremendous benefit to creating an environment that fosters all its members to be not only learners or followers, but active participants the development of their own doctrine or framework. There have been numerous successful models in the secular arena, that are challenging the widely accepted, closed, top-down models that dominate our current culture. One benefit to a more transparent and open system, is that people with diverse backgrounds can bring additional insight into the nature of mysteries seemingly unsolvable to someone without the other’s particular background.
One might think that this might create an unstable and chaotic environment, but many are finding the opposite to be true. Through distributed thinking, bad ideas are weeded out, and beneficial ones improved upon. Generally, the participants gain no compensation for their devotion other than a satisfaction of contributing to the cause they are pursuing. This seems a reasonable safe-gaurd to the possibility of straying off the course, or corrupting the kernel of truth, or impetus for the program being developed.
What I am suggesting is not an invitation toward relativism, where society creates God in their own image. Rather, what I am suggesting is that there are a lot of areas of faith, and practicing faith, that need not be static. It is appropriate to make the communication of our faith relevant to our time and circumstances. Similarly, we should always be investigating, and testing our understanding of our faith. We have more resources at our disposal than any other time in history. We should build upon the knowledge of men who came before us and also not be afraid to challenge it and ask questions that may be buried deep within our hearts. We should be confident that truth will prevail, no matter how difficult the questions become. What we should fear is the possibility that our faith contains elements that are founded more on general acceptance or man-made teaching and rules, rather than God’s teaching to us.
So, I feel that God wants us all to tinker around with the “source-code†of Christianity and offer any contributions to the community that we may make. Let’s not simply rely on someone else to determine these types of issues for us. God will lead you to truth when you seek it.
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