For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.
-1 Corinthians 4:9-13
Hey all! Shay here. Guest blogging on Greg’s blog again. I have an interesting story for you from last weekend:
I was invited to guest host a local improv comedy show on Friday. What this means is I stand up and share stories and between each story the players do a series of short skits based on material from my stories. This show generally features artists, authors, poets, musicians, local politicians, radio DJs and other similarly known personalities. As a youth pastor I was immediately confused at the proposition that I should host this show, but I agreed.
I prepared several humorous anecdotes about some kids in my youth group and even a few about when I was in youth group growing up. As the show began, I slowly realized what I had gotten myself into. I had hoped that my beliefs and values would not be exploited or ridiculed and that the material for their show would come from the wacky antics of teenagers rather than from the religious setting in which these antics took place. I was wrong. After the first set of scenes, I didn’t know what I could possibly do to redeem the show. The scenes involved an angry Jesus who cussed kids out, people wiping their private parts with cake and then feeding it to others, a demon bird, drilling holes in Bibles for fun, a lot of sex, a lot of random cussing, and a lot more potentially offensive material that I cannot recall right now. It seemed as if the Church, Christianity, and Christ were quickly becoming fodder for cheap jokes and bitter ridicule.
I have spent a lot of time reflecting on that evening since then and have a few thoughts on the situation. I love comedy. I think good humor is better than most things in life. I love laughing and having fun and witty conversation and good jokes. However, as with most good things, humor and laughter can be twisted into something harmful or degrading. C.S. Lewis addresses this concept when he identifies several different types of laughter: joy, fun, ‘the joke proper’, satire (or mockery), and flippancy.
With improv, the challenge is to avoid the easy way out. The easy way is flippancy and a close second is exaggerated satire. In the world of acting this is known as ‘going blue.’ Crude and vulgar content is often used in place of wit, good satire, observant jokes, fun, and joy. In the show there was a lot of mockery, satire, and flippancy. And this is where the conversation begins. Paul warns us of the worse part of satire and all of flippancy when he writes, “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving (Eph. 5:4).”
Standing on the line between the Kingdom and the World, I could have seen myself as being too sensitive and prudish and taking the whole thing a bit too personally, but at intermission and after the show a couple of the players came up to me and apologized and said they would try harder to keep the show “clean.” I even got an email later that night from the friend who asked me to host the show but couldn’t actually be there that night. He apologized because he heard the show was very raunchy and crude.
Sure, I could have been offended and angered because I was invited as a guest and then not treated with respect. I could have been upset that the things I care about were mocked and the values I hold were disregarded. I could have puffed my chest out and declared that my God and I did not deserve to be treated that way. But I don’t think this is the attitude or mindset Christ would want me to take.
If you read the letters of Paul carefully and have some understanding of the language and culture of drama and spectacle of Paul’s time you can start to see a very specific message about the image we as Christians should take in the world. One key passage is found in Corinthians: “We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ (1 Cor. 4:9-10).” In Paul’s letters, he makes a comparison between Christ on the cross and the spectacle of being the buffoon like ‘fool’ character in the theater productions of his time or those who were sent into the arenas to be humiliated and killed.
We are called to “have same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had” as Paul writes in the Philippians hymn: “Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be exploited, rather, he made himself nothing by taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by being obedient to death, even death on a cross (Phli. 2:5-8)!”
Instead of seeing this evening as a humiliating waste of time, I have come to see it as being an opportunity to live the humble gospel out with joy. The actors and the audience have a new perspective on Christian leaders because I was willing to go into their world and sit among them. I showed them I can have fun and be gracious even in the face of obvious ridicule. Nothing I did or said was condoning their behavior, but nothing I did or said condemned them, either. I even ended the night with a brief summary of my sermon for the following Sunday and an invitation for them to join me for worship. I made a few new friends and hopefully opened some eyes to what it means to follow Christ.
What would you have done in my situation? What are your thoughts on playing the ‘fool for Christ’? How do we as the Church fail to accept the role as ‘Christ’s fool’ and instead join the world in their image game?
July 24, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I would love to hear the perspective of the people who were in the show and those in the audience and hear their response to Shay’s interaction with them all.
July 24, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Great post Shay,
To go off on a tangent here, I use humor (poor humor as can be seen on my blog) as a means to discuss (or even as a defense against) things I do not understand. I can hear Seinfeld in my head now…”what’s the deal with….”
I look forward to hearing comedy about Christianity because it is a window into the thought process of others. Some that do…and some that do not understand our faith. Take, the Simpsons for example, In my limited experience I actually value their takes on Christianity because it gives me a new perspective to consider and that oftentimes leads to new understandings for me as I struggle with the points and perspectives that the writers come up with.
My question: Is it not possible to view others’ comedy, crude or not, as a commentarty on a thing they do not understand? If this is the case, would it not serve us well to note it as a thing that we should consider in our faith and how we would go about witnessing?
July 24, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Shay,
I think you played the part well, Shay. I wanted to say that first.
I’m in a similar situation at one of my jobs this summer. There is no Improv comedy going on in the background (but that would be nice), but I’m perhaps one of the few Christians where I work. There has been no out front ridicule of me, but there are moments of “oh you’re the seminary guy” when discussion alcohol or other pleasures of the world. I laugh it off and smile and act as if I would around you or Greg or Todd. OK, well maybe not Todd.
The point is that Christ went to the places that we dare not go to sometimes in our own lives. The pastor of the church I served at prior to the start of the summer had a great sermon about it and how we are called to be Christ’s light in places or situations where we are not comfortable. It’s something I need to realize more and more.
There is a fine line there, obviously. You don’t want to be ridiculed to the point where it becomes inappropriate, but there is opportunity to teach and love in all situations.
Good Job, Father Shay.
July 25, 2008 at 3:33 am
Hey Shay,
I was one of the members in the audience with my wife Ashley. What struck me most during the exchanges wasn’t the mockery. That was to be expected. But as we watched it became clear they were attacking Christianity with strange underhanded comments and turning Shay’s stories around to mock rather than find humor. The amateurish actors behavior although totally inappropriate, was difficult to address or speak to inbetween skits. I was sitting next to Shay trying to think of ways to retort or speak to what had just happened, and it was difficult to find the words or opportunity to speak for our King. I mean, do you just get up and start preaching and address the comments straight on. That would pretty much have turned the evening upside down.
I wanted to help you Shay find a way to respond, and the decision to flip from being the storyteller to speaking to the comments of the actors would have been more bold and courageous and I personally would have found it extremely difficult. I really don’t like public speaking though.
As an audience member, in retrospect, I could have booed more often. But personally, I think Shay handled himself humbly, and with dignity in the face of ridicule. They would lie straight to his face and say we’re going to clean it up, and the guy who said it just continued his routine. Their idol is comedy and entertainment and they’ll sell anything for it.
The actors thought is was a great evening cause the crowd was loud and engaged. Of course casting jewels usually gets the swine a bit riled up.
July 25, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Todd, I think your questions hit the nail on the head. Watching and listening to the actors and audience gave me insight into who they are and where they are ad thus gave me a door through which to minister to them. At one point a scene ended with two “Christian” characters holding hands and declaring they had gotten to first base. As I walked on I quickly processed that this bit was a joke about the prudishness of Christians and their naiveté when it comes to physical relationships. So when I stood up there I said in a slightly embarrassed or repentant way, “That isn’t anywhere close to first base.” To me this accomplished several things: it was demonstrating my own understanding of the worldly nature, admitting that Christians go too far sometimes, all while not condoning sexual promiscuity (the underlying theme) or allowing them to think Christians are ignorant of the world around them.
Shannon, one of my ministry principles is to be “in the world, but not of the world” or another way of saying it: “to be light in the darkness.” While we might feel surrounded, the darkness shall not overcome the light. So keep being light.
Tait, maybe I should have turned the evening upside down. The other voice in my head right now is teaching me the incompatibility of power and faith. This voice would tell me not to try to usurp the throne these actors built for themselves or violently hurl boos in their direction. Their throne and their boos are the tools of their kingdom. They are worthless to us. We have another way.
July 25, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Power and faith are not incompatible if you understand power to come from above and realize the need for the power of the Holy Spirit to be the source of the church living out a life of faith in Christ Jesus. This is not worldly power.
I wonder if the evening could have been turned upside down without booing…I am thinking YES!!
Shay, if you could redo the night what would you do differently? Would you be a host again if they asked you?
July 25, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Hey Greg, Shay and Maggie…
Shay – Tough situation…but I appreciate the fact that you hung in there and continued to share from your Christian perspective! From the sounds of that crowd, it was bold on your part.
Your situation reminded me of Christ telling His disciples that the world will hate them because the world first hated Him. Too often, I believe that many Christians think of the lost world, and evangelism, in terms of just being “attractive”, or need-meeting, to draw the lost to a church/community…when in reality the unsaved hate Christ and Christianity. And they don’t hate Him, or it, because of alleged mean/harsh/hypocritical/judgemental Christians…they just hate Christ (and thus Christianity, or anything to do with it). They are slaves to sin and dark-hearted (as Scripture says).
I wasn’t there, so I can’t offer any specific input…but I was thinking about David, in 1 Samuel 17, when he heard Goliath mocking Israel. I liked his response: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of God?” Sometimes, I think that a worthy defense to an afront towards Jesus Christ is appropriate.
I think that an afront towards God should prompt a corrective reponse from a Christian…just like Carmen’s response, towards you, garnered a coorective response from Greg. He did that out of love towards you and I think that Christians need to do it out of love for God.
That kind of righteous/compassionate anger is what fueled the Apostle Paul’s evangelism in Acts 17. He was angered by all of the idol worship in Athens and called for repentance from sin while giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many did not like the Truth that Paul preached, and they were angered, but a few followed by faith in Jesus Christ.
If I am ever faced with a situation such as yours, I pray that I have the boldness to defend the faith and to also accurately proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ (because faith in Jesus Christ is what that unsaved crowd so desperately needed…and any unsaved crowd so desperatley needs).
July 25, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Paul, thank you for your kind words and scriptural insights.
Maggie, of course the power of the Holy Spirit is an appropriate power, but the conversation has been about worldly approaches to power. Power from the world comes from setting one’s self over another in a controlling manner. Power from God comes from humbly serving others in love. This power does not hope to control, but to reveal Truth in Love.
I hope that my time there did turn some of their mindsets upside down and at the very least their expectation for what they would hear that evening was turned upside down.
I have told them that if they ever want me to host again, I am more than willing to do so. I would love the opportunity to share my life and faith with them any time possible.
The only thing I would have done differently is to go with the actors to the bar after the show and hang out so I could talk to the head of the group and share with him that I was upset by some of the material, but I am not holding it against them and then I would take some time to separate the things he thought were offensive from what was actually offensive and give some reasons why. (The topic of the world’s understanding of Christian values is worthy of an entire blog in and of itself.)
July 25, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Power from God does not just come in the form of serving others humbly in love we have to speak too. It seems that everybody is comfortable with the deed part, but not so much with the word part.
Shay, you called all this conversation…I don’t really consider any of this bit by bit commenting to be a conversation. If we really wanted to commit to conversation then we should all just sit down and talk. I often think about how silly it really is that we engage in this forum. If we live within close proximity then we should meet and converse about topics like this one.
I am somewhat surprised that you would be interested in hosting again, but if you do I would like to come and be a witness.
July 26, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Maggie, I have thought a lot about blogs and the internet recently and the impersonal yet very public format that they provide. I agree that face to face conversation is better. I also think that the way blogs allow for instant yet permanent remarks is dangerous. I think a blog should just be a catapult for face to face conversation. It is also good because it allow people outside our social bubble to join the discussion and offer a different perspective.
If they ever invite me back, you can certainly come with me. Maybe we can subversively flip the whole thing upside down in the power of the Holy Spirit!