[ the sound of...music? ]

The Kingdom of Couches is one of those books that tends to linger.

It's the sort of book that you intend to file away after you've read it, but then wake up at 3 a.m. only to mumble, "I need to find out what he said about this one thing in this one chapter..."

(Random thought: this book would be ideal for jumpstarting a small group with friends or ministry partners. Check out this Web site for ordering info and a downloadable discussion guide -- a 15-page PDF file: very cool.)

Throughout KOC, Walker copy and pastes entries from the blog he and some of his CCC team members at the University of Texas keep so that they can dialogue about God, faith issues, family, ministry, etc. One of the guys, Brett, is given quite a bit of space in Walker's book, which turns out to be a pretty good thing. In the chapter entitled Sinking the Ark: Church & Subculture, Brett's blog entry is a reply to an earlier post in which Walker links to an article that had appeared in the popular GQ.

The GQ writer immersed himself for seven days into the Christian subculture: Christian music, TV, books, nutrition programs(!) and prayer guides. According to Walker, the author concluded that the Christian subculture seemed like "a self-contained parallel universe...a bad copy of the mainstream, not a truly distinctive or separate achievement."

Brett compares the separation of 'spiritual stuff' versus 'real life' to a musical:

The problem I have with musicals is that nobody's life is plausibly like that. Who goes through their life as if it were completely normal, only to randomly burst into song and dance (often in chorus with other people)? How does that work? Do you plan out when you're going to sing, or is it like falling in love and you just know? Do you prepare songs and choreography for many different moods and situations ahead of time, or do you just make it up on the fly? Even sci-fi movies are realistic to me compared to musicals. Aliens invading Earth seems way more plausible than my neighbor Deion and I singing to each other across the fence about our days.

I had this sickening realization the other day. I'm a Christian (not the sickening part), and my life is a musical. Most of my life looks relatively normal, but then at prescribed times in the week, I meet up with other relatively normal people and start singing. I don't dance too much (I can't dance), but sometimes I'll close my eyes and sway. An hour or so later, I, along with everyone else, stop singing and we go about our business as if nothing happened.

This passage had me laughing out loud, in part because it is like truth - truth - truth and also because Brett reminds me of my friend Joe (check out his blog -- he and two other Muskingum students, Emily and Evan, are in Chicago, IL for Summer Project with CCC), who also isn't a huge fan of musicals and would get along with this Brett guy. (By the way, I found their team blog online. Here it is.)

(Another random thought: a lot of guys really aren't huge fans of musicals. It's their tendency toward practicality, I think. Oh...my friend Evan -- the one in Chicago -- does, though. I can rationalize that, though: he has a great voice, Southern charm and would make a musical bearable to watch. Don't get me wrong...I like musicals. I love The Sound of Music, actually. I mean, it's a classic and has major historical value!)

***

So, yeah. Isn't that crazy and sort of disconcerting at the same time?

I've felt this way before. It's comparable to the "Sunday Christian" thing, but maybe not really, because the whole stepping into character shoes act tends to confuse and plague us pretty extensively in the long run.

In Christian community, we vision-cast, plan, dialogue and worship together. We strive to be led by the Spirit and to walk humbly alongside Jesus. We see fruit.

As individuals, though, I think we (by we, I often mean me) find ourselves in utter silence when conversation with friends or family could, perhaps, make a turn toward a dynamic, challenging spiritual conversation. Maybe it's because we are hesistant to 'go' into that realm, or maybe we (I) are (am) lacking faith in a God who has gone sufficiently 'before us' and who is infinitely more experienced and capable of speaking to people's hearts. (Certainly more than I will ever be, regardless of how many Speech Communication classes I take at Muskingum.)

***

In all reality, we can't lay all the blame on "Christian subculture." Yeah, it's crappy that a lot of people who really love Jesus get a bad rap because of TV programs or books or songs that have seriously misrepresented the heart of God, but it comes down to this, I think: it's in our court (my court, really) to step out of script and allow an omnipresent God to live and move through us in just that way -- simultaneously (Dictionary.com) -- all the time. A God whose character is beautifully constant.

I think Brett's right. My life can't look like The Sound of Music and its choreographed musical numbers (though learning musical scales while frolicking through Austria would be pretty exciting).

What's more, if my interactions with God and community look more like a flashy premiere than a tough but thriving relationship, I need to re-evaluate and spend less time sing-songing and more time investing in a reciprocating friendship (initiated by the Creator of everything; isn't that unreal?).

***

Here's what I love about all this, though: God doesn't let down on His promises -- on His love for His children because we fall, repeatedly, straight on our faces (our put-on faces, nonetheless!).

Instead, He gently picks us up. He helps us find the courage to wipe off a tear or two. He gives us strength to walk with Him and befriend others with authenticity, knowing that He is the One behind it all, anyway.

Keep seeking Him.

-Jessie

One other thing: supposedly the article in GQ (Sept. 2002) stirred up quite a bit of controversy. After some Google searching, I found the article on some random guy's blog. I'd be interested in hearing your replies to the article.

Okay, one last thing (I promise!): that team blog the UT guys have -- it's really good. Here's the link again. If you never have the chance to read KOC, at least bookmark their Web site. It's the best article database I've found in awhile. Good stuff! :)