STAGE & STORY

Cultivating the Christian Imagination

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The Imprisoned Imagination: A Reflection on John Bunyan’s Soaring Creativity

13 Great Movies Worth Renting. . .If You're in the Mood

Cultivating the Imagination: Problems and Solutions

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

Jun 28, 2018
5 min

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

The Cosmic Drama: From Setting to Conflict

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

The Real Drama

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 deep

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

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