My friend Jennifer is not only good for gritty soap recommendations, but also for finding bon mots online that she knows I will especially appreciate.
Such as this link to a Donald Miller essay on film and structure and Robert McKee. (You'll remember Miller from such hits as BLUE LIKE JAZZ.)
Favorite moment from the blog-- as Miller talks about the importance of story in the Bible:
"Right and wrong, then, are not often taught by lists (truth without meaningful context) but rather through the tools of story. The seminar made me wonder why religious institutions who aim to teach ancient texts don’t have story departments alongside their systematic pursuits. It seems that one might benefit from the other."
Hey, Miller, need a choir? I'm ready for you!
Just my thoughts,
Sean
2 comments:
Not only is story one of the, if not THE main way of truth-telling in the Bible, a good third of it is also poetry or song lyrics. (I'm including more or less all of the Old Testament prophetic books and Revelation in this tally, besides the obviously poetic books of Job, Psalms, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes.) If any seminaries get the idea to add story departments, maybe there should be at least a broom closet for poetry...
Randy
Woo hoo! I just heard Miller speak on this very topic at the Willow student ministries conference, and I wanted to cheer the entire time. :) His subject was evangelism...but his main point was that as Christians, this should never be about ramming a philosophy down someone's throat; it's about inviting them from the story they're currently living into the amazing story they've been searching for.
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