Blue Like Jazz

It’s not like any Christian film I’ve ever seen.  And I think every follower of Jesus ought to go see it…

Don, a dyed-in-the-wool Southern Baptist teen, forsakes his plan to attend a conservative, Christian college. Instead, he takes a scholarship to Reed College at the suggestion of his atheist dad. The story follows Don’s attempt to distance himself from his faith during his freshman year.

As a movie, it has that sort of quirkiness that I expect from an independent film. The acting is good and there are some really great, stand-out moments that are both funny and poignant (something that I’ve come to expect from Steve Taylor).

The entire film is worth the last 5 minutes.

There are a few things you might want to brace yourself for:

First: There’s almost never any swearing in the typical Christian film… This one is an exception.  And while I’m sure it falls short of the kind of profanity you would really hear at an uber-liberal, secular college, it is more than you’ll probably want your kids to hear.

Second: Organized religion takes a pretty strong hit.  From the hyper-moral youth minister who is caught in adultery to the pedophile priest, the sins of the Church are laid bare.  And while you will be tempted to blow off these examples as the exception and not rule, we need to embrace the truth that this is the way the world outside of the Church sees us.

Third: This film presents a picture of life just as it is… We’ve become accustomed to films that present a picture of life as it should be… We want our marriages to be fireproof and our leaders to be courageous, but in a fallen reality we are weak, afraid and vulnerable. Blue Like Jazz defies the norm by being grounded in our fallen reality.

Go see it and then let’s talk about it.

ThinkChristian talked to Steve about Christian art in general and filmmaking in particular… You can watch and read the full interview here.

Steve says that Christian films have become synonymous with “family friendly” and that this isn’t necessary or even right.  Blue Like Jazz doesn’t look like a film I’d take my 6-year-old to see… It has a PG-13 rating and prominently features a lesbian, an atheist and a “hero” who is ashamed of Jesus…

I honestly can’t wait to see it.

What do you think?  Should “Christian” be synonymous with “family-friendly”?  Is there a place for Christian films that are PG-13 or even R-rated?

A friend recommended a book and I followed the link… Read two reviews and went back to comment on the link…

I’m going to read this, but I have to say that I’m really concerned about the content based on the reviews that I’m reading…

She replied that I really ought to read the book, gave a personal testimonial and linked the book’s author into the discussion…

Then the author posted a comment that since Amazon.com is giving away the book for free, I should at least give it a fair read…

Ouch.

Of course, by the time I read these two comments, I had already downloaded the book and read 58% of it on my Kindle… I’ll share a complete review after I’m finished, but suffice it to say that I found the negative reviews to be largely biased, unfair and (with one of them) was left wondering if the reviewer actually read the book at all.

There are 64 reviews of this book on Amazon and only 2 of them are negative… The two that I read.

Which begs the question: Why am I drawn to the negative reviews of books and music online?

Because I am… I always read the negative reviews and then decide whether to read the book or listen to the sample clips.  I almost never read the positive reviews.  Here’s why:

1. A negative review usually reveals more about the content of the media in question than a positive one.  5-star reviews generally contain frothy, emotionally bloated praise.  When the reviewer says, “I love this book, everyone should read it,”  I find that profoundly unhelpful.  Critics are much more likely to cite actual quotes and content from the book.

2. A negative review usually drags the author’s presuppositions into the light.  Reviewers have presuppositions… and the way they critique an author’s book will reveal the conflict between their ideas and the author’s.  This is helpful to me whatever side I find myself lining up with.

3. Christian authors and musicians have raving fans… Raving fans rarely give helpful reviews.  Just go to iTunes and read the reviews of CCM records… The average review will be between 4 and 5-stars.  Everyone loves it.  There will be that one troll who wants to talk about how all Christian music is terrible or how we’re all delusional and there’s no God… But those are easily dismissed among the dizzying praise.  And let’s face it:  Nothing’s that good.

4. I value critical thinking even when it’s directed at me.  I married a critical thinker.  When I ask participants to evaluate me or a program that I’ve led, I start with the critical responses.  Criticism is the soil that grows improvement…

Sometimes, (like the book in question today) I find that the nay-sayers missed the point or are too steeped in their own opinions, presuppositions and traditions to really engage in honest conversation.  And sometimes, (also the case here) the person making the recommendation has a more weighty opinion than the most thoughtful critic…

Bottom line: I only have a limited amount of time to read and these are my selection criteria… I probably miss some good reading… I probably dodge the bullet on a lot of time-wasting stinkers too.

How do you make the decision?  What are your selection criteria for reading material?

Sign me up.

There are a number of things to like about The Voice.  Ecclesia Bible Society went to great lengths to give the individual New Testament writers their “own voice”… Peter reads distinctively different than Paul and the Gospels all have their own feel.  Instead of reading like a single-author epic, the New Testament takes on the character of a novella and essay collection (which is, after all, what it is).

I also appreciate that the translators didn’t go to great lengths to make the Scriptures “politically correct” or to progressivize them.  All of the “hard passages” are still there and still hard.

There are only a few features that I dislike.

The first is the way that dialogue is rendered in the Gospels… The introduction says that the dialogue is written to avoid confusion as to who the speaker is and to avoid the repetitive use of “he said” in the narrative.  It is adhered to religiously.  Parts read like the actor’s edition of a stage play…

You guys know that I like to read plays… It’s practically my job.

But I didn’t like it in the Bible… personal preference… It made the narrative feel artificial and forced, especially in the parables.

The other aspect of The Voice that I didn’t really appreciate is specific to the Kindle version.  The editor’s notes and commentary appear in a single column with the Biblical text.  In fact, it takes some focus to differentiate the comments from the text itself.  The introduction describes the color and column variation in the print edition, where this is probably not a problem.  The navigation for he Kindle version is somewhat wonky too.

The introduction goes into some detail about how the translation is neither literal (word-for-word) nor idiomatic (thought-for-thought) and makes arguments against either of these time-tested approaches being better than the other.  The translators for The Voice move between these two translation approaches and apply quite a bit of paraphrase and literary license.  This makes for a good read, but weakens the translation for use as a study Bible.

Overall, I don’t think that I would recommend The Voice as more than a supplemental read.  For personal study or teaching, it still falls short of the reliability of the popular translations.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I want to be a clone...

A few months back, our pastor told me “if you don’t take the lead in this project, it won’t happen.”

He meant it as a compliment and a statement of the overall uniqueness of my gifts and expertise… but it concerns me because I want to have a bigger vision than what I can accomplish. And if I were ever to leave, it would leave a tailored job that the church would have difficulty filling.

I’m not saying that out of conceit… I’ve seen it in other ministries at the LVC… We have boxes piled high in our storage room that represent the legacy of leaders who tailored their ministries so narrowly that no one took over when they moved on…

Arts ministry takes up a lot more storage space.

There are a few ways to make your arts ministry duplicatable:

1. Keep it generic.  Do projects that any number of individuals could take leadership of in your absence… Things like art exhibitions, open-mic nights and family art nights require administrative leadership that could be provided without any particular artistic gifting. The drawback to this type of artistic ministry is that it leaves you, as the leader, doing largely administrative work. I would feel very stifled if this was all I did…

2. Build a leadership team.  I admit to a certain amount of hubris when it comes to my own abilities… I like what I do and I like doing it… BUT if I play my cards too close to the vest, I miss out on the opportunity to engage and empower others to do what they do.  In the interest of longevity and leadership, I have begun to develop a team to take over the implementation of our arts projects, including the theatrical projects that I personally lead.

3. Train your replacement.  There is a staff member at the LVC who excels in leadership development.  He has trained replacements in just about every ministry that he leads.  If he were to leave us tomorrow, these programs would have existing leaders to continue the work without any interruption.  This is a goal that I’m shooting for but my unique skill-set makes it difficult.  In truth, it will probably take 2 or 3 leaders to take over the projects that I lead.  Not because I’m so awesome as much as because I’m such a nerd.  If you must, divide your work into “skills-required” roles.  The goal is to leave a working program…

Church buildings are not built with enough storage space for the other kind…

If you’re browser doesn’t support the video, you can watch it on YouTube.

When I was in high school, I dated a girl who was fascinated with sign language (she went on to be a deaf-education specialist)… She taught me some signs for common words and expressions… I remember a few of them…

The sign for “stupid” for example is to hit yourself in the forehead with your fist… Random, I know, but aren’t you glad you know that now?

ASL has an expression that translates, literally, as “train gone.” An ASL speaker will use the term if she gets lost in a train of thought and forgets where she was headed with it.

Train Gone…

I still like the image… I sometimes still use the sign, even though no one in my current circle knows ASL.  It’s a nice physicalization of the feeling that I’ve lost the plot and need a minute to let my brain regroup.

I’ve been regrouping a bit lately.

In retrospect, there are 4 things that get me off-track every time.  They are (in no particular order):

1. Too much focus on short-term goals.  Goal orientation is a good thing.  So are list-keeping, flow charts and organizational management… BUT it’s easy to get side tracked if the short term goals or the project-at-hand are not viewed in light of the larger objectives.  From an arts and ministry standpoint, this can take the form of a strong focus on the program/project/show without an overarching theme of making disciples/encouraging the church/glorifying God.  On the other hand…

2. Too much focus on long-term objectives can also lead you astray.  If the larger themes are not supported by manageable, measurable, short-term projects, it’s difficult to tell if we’re making any progress.  Without short-term goals, our optimism can fuel unprofitable ventures while discouragement can lead us to prematurely abort a project that is difficult but worth the effort.  Which reminds me…

3. Too much focus on self can break the back of a worthwhile ministry.  Paul warned the Philippians about this: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” (Phil 2:3)  I struggle with this a lot.  I am prone to believe that my opinions are (at least generally) right, that my goals are (most of the time) Kingdom-building and that my motives are (practically always) pure.  I’m sure that the Philippians thought so too, but the imperative is still there:  Consider others more important than yourself… There is, of course, a balance to maintain here as well, which takes us to…

4. Too much false humility.  I’ve always been fascinated by the parable of the talents… Master takes a vacation and leaves his servants with money to invest according to their individual capability… 10, 5 and 1 talent each, respectively… Master comes home… 10-talent-guy has doubled his money… so has 5-talent-guy… but 1-talent-guy buried his in the dirt so it wouldn’t get lost… Master is not pleased and says that 1-talent-guy should have at least put the money in the bank to earn interest… then the Master says:

For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  (Matt 25:29)

God has gifted us with a little bit of His own awesomeness… False humility will lead us to hide these gifts in the dirt for fear of misusing them… Not cool either.

What else, in your experience, can get you off-track?

Flash mob, anyone?

I confess to being a bit grandiose… I am the guy who is always looking for some project that stretches the current boundaries… Some way to get my arts program to “level-up”… As an artist and as a pastor, I am always nursing a bit of holy discontent with regard to the status quo.

That’s not really what I’m talking about when I say that an effective program is finite…

This isn’t about limits as much as it’s about boundaries…

I’ll explain:

I had a meeting recently where I was encouraged to expand the scope of our arts ministry to include a regular small group for artists… There are pros and cons to the idea.  In general, I like it.  The biggest objection that I have at this point is one of boundaries: I don’t really have time in my schedule to add a small group ministry.  Adding a regular weekly meeting will impact my ability to successfully continue producing shows.

When I get grandiose, I can see a really broad ministry to and for artists:  Weekly community, flash mobs, summer camps for all ages, creativity mentoring, flash mobs, seasonal art exhibitions, all-singing-all-dancing hit musicals, flash mobs, original music recording, short film production and graphics branding for all of the above… But I have to draw the line somewhere…

For me, it seems pretty obvious: I can activate artists in multiple disciplines by continuing to produce shows, particularly musicals, with broad appeal and diverse casts.  Doing this on a regular basis also provides opportunities for community between artists AND it takes very little encouragement to get artists to involved in our church’s already extensive small-group ministry…

Boundaries are fluid, however, and in a context of a church that is growing, I can see where this decision might get revisited any number of times as we expand our numbers over time…

I think I’ll add flash mobs before I do anything else new.

When I began developing the arts ministry at LVC, there was nothing like it going on at all in that church… Worship music was the only artistic medium being employed in any of the existing programs…

Uniqueness was not a problem for me.

Raising up any new program in a church requires attention to the uniqueness of the program. If the new program overlaps an existing ministry, you will find difficulty recruiting leaders and participants.

Years ago, I was Education Pastor in a medium-sized denominational church. I was tasked with revamping the Discipleship Training program, which was plagued by two problems. First, some classes didn’t draw enough participation and second, other classes got bogged-down and stretched their 12-week study into almost 2 years (not exaggerating).

The first problem was easily explained: the chosen topics were indistinguishable from the Sunday School themes. The DT program was not unique in it’s content and participants were subsequently disinterested in making the time investment.

The second problem was also an issue in uniqueness, but not with the DT program… In our structure, we intended for Sunday School to be more a place of community. The leader of the “longest-running, floating DT class” had done such a great job of creating community in his group, that the participants were loathed to finish that course and move on. Since his gifts were better suited to pastoring and building community, we moved him into SS leadership, preserving and enhancing the unique purpose of SS.

A unique Arts program will draw out participants who are unactivated in other areas of church life. For example, our current model for worship features a band that is purposefully limited in scope: leader (with guitar), drummer, second guitar, bass, and second vocalist. The number is also limited by the technical requirement: worship music is played from chord charts.

Our Arts Ministry projects activate keyboardists, symphonic instrumentalists and choral vocalists. We also generally need players who can read music. The result of our unique approach allows these artists (who would not have a place on the worship team) to be activated and contribute their gifts in the life of the church.

I have come to believe that the purposes of God for our ministries can be easily discerned by simply looking at the gifts of the people that God has given us…

Lots of thespians… do theatre.

Lots of vocalists… do vocal ensembles.

Lots of photographers…

Lots of graphic designers…

Lots of technical musicians…

You get the idea.

The uniqueness of your program should reflect the uniqueness of your team…

And if you are having difficulty drawing interest, do a “uniqueness check”… Ask yourself whether this activity or program is similar in scope, theme or practice to other programs offered in your church.

NEXT UP: A Finite Program…

LVC Cast of Godspell...

I’ve been working to develop an arts program at the LVC for about 2 years now… In that time, we’ve tried a few different kinds of things, but always seem to find ourselves falling back on theatrical projects that consume all of our artistic resources for months. I wouldn’t describe the program as ‘comprehensive’ but it has certainly been successful.

It might be helpful to give you a bit of statistical data:

The LVC is a small church (under 200 in typical attendance), with a small staff (1 full-time and 2 part-time staffers) and a rented, retail facility that I always describe as being ‘in a hole.’  We’re currently putting up a production of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol, which will probably activate 30-35% of the total average attendance. Our Godspell production activated about 15%.  Our Facebook group (of individuals active in the program) has a membership of around 60 (more than 30%). Our Godspell production reached an audience of about 700 and our Night In Bethlehem event (which involves artists but is actually produced by our kid’s ministry) reaches an audience of about 1250 in the years that we do it. NiB has an activation percentage around 75%. We are prepared to reach an audience of around 1000 with our current production.

So, our focus on events and productions has been rewarded with good attendance, 3-1/2 to 4 times the typical reach of our church at-large.

Gallery presentations have activated 8-12 artists (<10% of attendees) and have required a great deal of work on my part.

Our current plan also calls for bi-annual ‘cafe night’ events that will include gallery presentations, art lessons for kids and adults and an open-mic forum.

That’s what we do because that’s who I am…

The form and focus that your arts program takes is largely dependent on your own gifts and artistic skills. It is essential, however, to recognize and embrace the basic qualities that make programs in church successful…

By my count, there are four… A successful program will be:

Unique… Regardless of how you organize your program, the opportunities offered by “Arts Ministry” must be unique within your church. For instance, our worship ministry is build around a five-piece band format, consisting of musicians who, for the most part, read charts or tabs and have little formal music training. Arts ministry offers opportunities for ensemble singing and musicianship outside of the worship team format.

Finite… The scope your program must be purposefully limited so that events and activities meet the goals of leadership. Our tendency is to jump off into major projects because these productions meet the goals of leadership. In most cases, these projects stretch us to the very limit of our capability, but the scope of the overall ministry remains limited.

Duplicatable… While the specific activities or the program may change with a change of leadership, the show must go on. In our arts group, there are 2 people who could take up leadership of the ministry and continue the same or similar emphases if I were to go away.

Open… Becoming a part of your program should be explicit and simple. Newcomers should be able to find their way into the program easily. By embracing a project approach, we are always announcing open auditions and vying for new recruits from within the church and from the community as well.

In the coming weeks, we’ll explore each of these factors in more detail…