Blog | Stage and Story

Before There was George Lucas or J.R.R. Tolkien—There was John Bunyan

Editor's Note: This is the first post in a series on John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. In a time when few could afford to go to the theatre, except the Lords and Ladies of the upper-crust, John Bunyan sat languishing in Bedford Gaol. It was 1678. He was about to pen one of the greatest stories ever told. And it all began with a dream—and with Bunyan’s imagination. His story opens with a Pilgrim named Christian who is on a journey—from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City: As I was walking through the wilderness of this world, I came to a place where there was a cave. I laid down in that place to sleep, and as I slept I had a dream in which I saw a man dressed in rags, standing in a

Jun 19, 2018
5 min

The Cosmic Drama: From Setting to Conflict

Editor's Note: This is the fourth post in a series of posts titled, "The Image of God in the Drama of God." Don't forget to read the first and second and third installments! In the last post, we looked at the way the present world points us to a spiritual reality. Our present world is a shadow that is passing by. To shift the metaphor, our world is also a stage and we are players on it. But many of us don’t realize we are players in a much larger drama: a cosmic drama, and we are neither the director, dramatist, nor lead actor. The Setting While God’s drama doesn’t begin with “once upon a time,” it opens in a similar way. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…” God is the f

Jun 7, 2018
4 min

The Real Drama

Editor's Note: This is the third post in a series of posts titled, "The Image of God in the Drama of God." Don't forget to read the first and second installments! I finished the last post with the idea that the physical world can serve as a doorway, a wardrobe, a railway station to the world beyond us--the supernatural world. Flannery O’Connor explains that “The type of mind that can understand good fiction is…the kind of mind that is willing to have its sense of mystery deepened by contact with reality, and its sense of reality deepened by contact with mystery” (79). Both Christian faith and imagination propel us to see our present world as a shadow. I’m not saying the shadow isn’t importan

Jun 1, 2018
5 min

Selfless Theater: It's Not All About You: Part 2

Editor's Note: This is the second post in a series on the idea of selfless theater. If you haven't read the first post, read it now: "Selfless Theater: It's Not All About You: Part 1." While attempting to perform before crowds selflessly, I was pridefully unaware of my own dependency on Christ for the very talents that made those performances possible. How can I stand to talk about pride and talent in the same breath? They aren’t contradictory statements though. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John that we can do nothing without him. We are completely dependent on him for everything we produce. And yet we do produce! John 15:4–5 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fr

STAGE & STORY

Cultivating the Christian Imagination

What is the Christian Imagination? | A Dialogue with Pastor Brandon, Chelsea Carrier, and Dane Bundy

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Creativity's Shadow: When Sadness Stalks the Imagination

Before There was George Lucas or J.R.R. Tolkien—There was John Bunyan

The Cosmic Drama: From Setting to Conflict

The Real Drama

Selfless Theater: It's Not All About You: Part 2