CommentaryEntertainment vs. God vs. Politics vs. Stories .... a ramble
That title certainly creates quite the wide-sweeping range of possibilities, doesn't it? Am I going to unpack and break apart the various ways that Christianity and modern culture's ideas of entertainment can't mix? Am I going to rip into Christianity's seeming incapability of mixing itself with the mainstream? (Think Facing The Giants. Think Fireproof. Solid stories. Nice concepts. Mediocre execution, and that's being generous. You want to make a Hollywood movie? Hire good actors. Drop the cliches and cheesyness. Don't settle for the standard; shatter the standard.)
That Sneedthesis aside....no, ripping into Christianity's seemingly unshakeable inability to mesh with modern culture is not what this blog is about. Those movies were mediocre but man, those folks tried hard, and their hearts definitely shone through. I give them mad props for making the effort, and a heck of an effort it truly was
No, this blog is simply my exploration of how I've come to reconcile my startlingly resolute faith that God is real, combined with how much I actually love him, with the fact that deep in my insides where I feel things that are real, I know I want to write stories that don't blurt his name. This is hard for me. Right now I feel like in every aspect of my life, I'm gleaning lessons about God. I'm not even trying. Heck, I'm trying to stop. It's exhausting, trying to keep up with all those thoughts, trying to record them all, trying to figure out what to do with them.
Of course, the book I'm writing now absolutely does, but that's just because it works and hey, that's somebody else's story that I'm just sharing. (That said, I friggin' love this story. Absolutely, positively cannot wait to get it out there for all of you to read. Fall 2010 baby! FALL 2010!) And yes, my new baby that exploded last month, The Lighthouse Project, absolutely does. But I think TLP is, in many ways, still a reflection of myself, similar to this blog. It's exploring stories like those that helps me learn more about my spirituality and shows me new things about God. (I'm really trying to get more of them up; I just struggle to find time!)
Before I go too much farther into this, I should say that I am fully aware of how horribly inept I am as a writer compared to so many older, wiser, more successful authors and journalists and essayists out there. I mean, I'm happy with where I am, but like any good competitor, I want to be so much better and believe I can be. I could go on and on and on and on naming names of people in whose company I feel like my writing will never be. (No, honestly, some days I truly do wonder why I even keep trying. Then I remember I'm only 22. Then I remember I just turned 23 and think Ess, really? Twenty-three alREADY? When--why--wha--ugh. Then I slap myself and stop drinking caffeine and try to actually get some writing done.)
Anyway, this reconciliation is actually quite simple. I've gotten horribly bored tired of reading all these Christian blogs I've been reading. JesusNeedsNewPR and StuffChristiansLike have just gotten dumb to me. OK, great, Christians do dumb things, haha. Move on, men. Seriously, you do nothing but further the stereotypes and draw even more attention to the lunacy.
I know. I need to lighten up.
And while the others are, I'm sure, equally sincere, what's all this about all these doubts and issues and everything else all these other Christians are sharing about themselves? Look, I think it's fantastic that people are being open and transparent and authentic. Really, I do. But man alive, it's everywhere, people just talking about talking about things. I don't mean to sound snotty or overly critical, but I honestly wonder how difficult it really is to ramble on and on about oneself. I mean, look at this blog you're reading! I'm just going and going and going. Look. At. Me. Go.
(That said, Don Miller has been absolutely on fire lately with some of his posts. Go read all of his from last week. Seriously. Quit reading this -- it's just a stupid ramble anyway -- and go read his. Maybe the problem isn't the content -- maybe it's the skill of its creator. Miller's fully flawed, to be sure, but the man is an outstanding thinker and fantastic communicator. And to be completely honest, I'd love to have his career. But I'm not him and know I'm not supposed to be.)
Really though, can't anyone write about him/herself. No, seriously, go try it. Maybe you don't have all the grammar right and maybe your antecedents don't line up with your pronouns and maybe you switch your verb tenses at the wrong times and maybe you for the life of you can't remember which "it's/its" to use when. But heck, even Miller can't figure that one out. (That's why they pay people called "editors.")
Anyway, I have so many ideas for stories that don't even necessarily tell a lesson or point to God. But then, am I always supposed to?
The answer: I don't think so. I mean, I'm a writer. Not a "Christian" writer. Not a "sports" writer. Not a "nonfiction" writer or an "essayist" or a "fiction" writer. Not a ______ writer. I'm a writer, no blank in front of myself. No, wait, check that -- I'm a growing writer. I'm still trying to figure all of this out. And you know what, it's friggin' hard. (For some reason in my head right now I hear that redheaded Bostonian lady on 30 Rock saying, "Wicked hahd, Jack, wicked hahd.")
(That's a Boston accent, if you didn't pick that up.)
I wonder the same thing about political bloggers and writers. And economic bloggers and writers. But especially religious and political bloggers and writers. I want to jump into those frays. I want to throw my weight around and interject my ideas and see who I can sway what ways. But somehow that all feels more pointless than these stories I want to tell. Maybe because way down deep -- you know, where I know things -- I know I'm not meant to be one of those. Oh, from time to time, perhaps here on the blog? Sure, why not? It's fun and health in moderation, like everything else in life.
But I think it's because there are no original thoughts, but there are original, or at least newly entertaining, ways of conveying thoughts. Stories are vessels through which thoughts connect with our souls.
Also, it's because there are others way better at such dialogue than I am.
But sometimes, I just want to help people escape. That's something Ant talked about while I was interviewing him for The Edge of Legend. He talked about how he loves what he does now with the Globetrotters because in the midst of an economic crisis, he was able to provide families with an escape. That's what entertainment is. The provision of an escape. I want to do that. I want to provide healthy escapes. I mean, I love analyzing religious ideas and challenging political concepts and all that junk, but there are so many people who do it way better than me and honestly, all I would do was contribute to the noise. And to be brutally honest, I probably wouldn't contribute that much.
I became a writer because I loved stories. And right now, I really need to make myself focus on the stories, not the messages. I need to make sure I'm having fun with what I'm writing.
Anyway, thanks for listening. I hadn't posted a blog in awhile and wanted to share. Sorry if I came off negative. Didn't mean to, not at all. Just felt like rambling a little bit.
Reader Comments (1)
Good thoughts. Any time we examine ourselves, most of the time, it's for the better. I'm not saying you needed to, just that by doing it, don't feel bad about anything you may or may not offend people with...or if you have in the past. You are not responsible for how people take the things you write as long as you are writing what you believe is good and true...that's my opinion anyway. Things/People change. Our thoughts change. So at one time, that's what was needed. I'm glad you don't label yourself as a writer- it makes everything that you write, more interesting! Write everything!! I like to read stories too! Bring it on!! lol.