the context of a thing...

Looking at it--taking it at face value--you'd think, "Cool, an orange rock, deposited on it's side on a black sand beach surrounded by plain rocks..."

Or something like that.

What you don't know is that I was on a walk.  In addition to walking I was thinking.  I was thinking about life, God, and the universe and the ways in which it all connects and the ways in which I can tell story (from pulpit or screen) that whispers to me and to you of that connection.

And I saw an orange rock.

It was lying in amongst several hundred others.  The water washing over it like all the rest.

Except that it was the only orange one.

Because of that, I picked it up.

Fascinated with it, wondering about it's history (was it once an orange boulder on the plains of Australasia?) I turned it over in my hand then bent to scratch my leg where a fly had bit me.

I saw the black sand.

I thought, "Man the orange would look cool against the black..."

So I found a spot, laid it on its side and took twenty or so shots to yield the one you see above.

"So what?" Say you.

Here's what.

That orange rock is like (for my church planting readers) the Gospel.  Left unexplained in a way that connects to the actual lives of your listeners that rock is just one rock among many.  Sure, there's something that makes it stand out, but left to their own devices--lest the Spirit draw them--there's a pretty big chance your listeners will pass it by.  

It's up to you to point it out in its context, tell it's story, and tell them why it's relevant to their story and the difference that rock is going to make.

Do you explain to your people why you do what you do and what that thing that you do (or things) is supposed to mean in the light of the Gospel?  Does it make sense to them?  Does it come alive?  Does it change their walk?

If not, you may have some work to do.

And for my screen-storytellers, that rock is the heart of your story.  The reason your script got written in the first place, the hook at the heart of it all, the theme.  Is it clear?  Can your audience 'feel' it all the way through, starting softly at the beginning then building as the film climaxes?  Does the theme matter?  Is it powerful enough to take them away for a time and show them a world that's possible?

If not, you may have some work to do.

I--for one--have to remember to keep reminding myself about the importance of context.  It's been said so often our ears have become hard but it's worth saying again...

The message never changes.  The culture does.  You must explain (and embody) the never-changing message (of Gospel, or story) in the context of your ever-changing culture.

You exegete scripture faithfully and apply it to culture.

You exegete culture effectively and apply it to story.

Or else you're (and this is for me) wasting everyone's time.

T