I'm a Christian, I'm a Christian

Author Peter Rollins, continues to generate debate and acclaim from his recent release Insurrection. This modern-day parable opens up chapter one of the book. After reading this story, I was hooked and had to read more. You can read my review of Insurrection here.

Every Sunday the pastor would stand at the front of his Church and with a booming voice finish his rousing sermon with a plea:

“Each week I go to a nearby town and serve the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden; what do you do? How do you show your compassion to those in need?”

People would applaud the minister’s closing remarks and every- one would wave him off at the end of the service as he hurried away in his little car.

The truth, however, was that each week he would go to a golf course and play a leisurely eighteen holes away from his congregation, family, and friends.

This deception had been going on for years, but eventually it came to the attention of some angels. They were furious at his lies and reported the situation directly to God.

After a little consideration, God said to the angels, “I will visit with this minister on Sunday and teach him a lesson he’ll never forget.”

Sure enough, next Sunday, God showed up at the Church. Yet again, the minister informed his congregation that he was going to go serve the poor before leaving for the golf course.

This time however, God intervened. When the minister took his first shot, the ball took off, flew through the air, bounced onto the green, and dropped into the hole.

The minister was amazed. At the second hole the same thing happened. And the third. And the fourth. Right through to the last hole.

With his last stroke, the minister sliced the ball badly, but still it curved around and, like all the others, found the hole in one.

All the while the angels in heaven watched what took place in utter disbelief. By the time God returned they shouted, “I thought you were going to punish the minister for all his lies, but instead you gave him the perfect round of golf!”

“That may be true,” replied God with a smile, “but ask yourself this: Who is he going to tell?”

Peter Rollins is a writer, lecturer, storyteller and public speaker. He is also the founder of Ikon, a creativity-laden faith group that has gained an international reputation for blending live music, visual imagery, soundscapes, theatre, ritual and reflection to create what they call ‘transformance art.’ Insurrection is his fourth book.

stories

stories are the heart of who we are as a people, as a society, as a culture. the blood that flows through our veins is saturated with mere words and memories of experiences, good and bad. some oft remembered, others suppressed and hidden deep within. our past, present and future is dependent on stories.

the more we suppress our stories and the stories of old, the more we become disengaged from each other and from the difficult truths of our collective pasts.

stories are a pathway to freedom, to confidence, and to a greater perspective that the world is greater than our realm. without regard, we must chew on our stories - no matter how refreshing to digest nor how difficult it may be to swallow. we must claw at it, dig deep, investigate and uncover. we must not take for granted the truth that is found in the stories of the world. for their words are they fuel that propels us beyond the mundane.

our collective story must be told and retold in order to bring about the future we've all dreamed of... a future that we never thought possible.

it all starts with stories.

what will your story be?

living a good story

recently - i finished reading Donald Miller's new book - A Million Miles and a Thousand Years. the essence of this book is 'story'. what kind of story are you living, am i living? the book is full of stories, basically, that discuss and look at what it might be like to re-write and edit one's own life story.

one chapter talked about risk and how overcoming risk makes for a great story. the wheels began to spin in my mind: what risks have i taken? what stories are memorable? here are a few things that came to mind... most of which my (or may not) be risky - but they are not what i would think of as normal... so thus maybe, perhaps they are good stories?

• Exploring and climbing into an abandoned barn - only to realize once inside i couldn't get out.
  
• sneaking out of billy's grandparents house by climbing out second story window - trying rope to bed
• Seeing George Brett play baseball up close and personal.
  
• riding around in the trunk of a car all night - returning to campus - only to go back out and drive all night around Lexington, KY with Jay Pope.
• Midnight impromptu dance party with friends in a field off the highway, as These Are the Days by 10,000 Maniacs played on the car stereo.
  
• Driving west and attending film school in Los Angeles.
• Successfully creating, pitching and producing a tv show.
• leaping into a new profession as Youth Director.
  
• Driving 6 hours to 'see about a girl'... a year and a half later, marrying that girl.
• My wife and i taking up running.
  
• Jen taking me to an Explosions in the Sky concert in ghetto Cleveland
• Taking the youth group on many trips and adventures: retreats, mission trips and the like.
  
• going with my parents on a makeshift family history tour - traveling to Randolph, NY + Crestline, Ohio and many places in between, interviewing people and videotaping the entire event.
  
• Family vacations @ Lakeside.
• Starting our own photography business.

these aren't examples of great stories - but they are just a glimpse of a few of my stories. some were risky... some were not so much. thinking about them compells me to make new ones.