Tuesday, November 29, 2005

When we're finished here, you're gonna be wearin' gold-plated doobers!

hahahahahahaha!

Why the arts are important to the doober.

My amigo, Manuel, who lives in Ecuador asked me to tell him what the importance is of theater in the church. Manuel and I share the same passion for theater ministry, and he has already been working with the students in his church for a long time, doing sketches and acting out stories set to music and lots of other wonderful things. Manuel, however, has not had the opportunity to work on a four-year theater degree for six years, as I have. So he asks questions, and I try to give thorough answers. In Espanish. haha. Anyway, this one is an important question to me, so I want to give him a good, well-thought-out answer. These are the reasons I have thought of so far:

First, theater (and for the most part when I say theater, I don't think it has to be limited to just theater. I think you can safely substitute any kind of art in here) is important in the church because theater is a form of expression. It is something that we create and share. God created each of us in his own image, and therefore, created us to be creators. I believe that if what we are creating is worthwhile; if it teaches, if it calls attention to things that should be addressed, if it points or leads to God in some way, whether directly or indirectly, or anything else that is good...then I believe that God delights in what we create. And so, theater, I believe, is a form of worship.

Another importance of theater in the church is communication. I believe that speaking direct truths to people is good for the mind. And we need to be feeding each other intellectually through good discussions, etc. But I also think it's important to communicate to the heart. And I don't think anything speaks better to the heart than a story. Jesus told a lot of stories in order to communicate his truths to the hearts of the people who listened. We should do the same thing. Whether through story or song or drawing or photo or theater or any other kind of creative communication, we should be speaking truths to the heart as well as to the mind.

And finally, I think theater is important to the church because it can help to keep the church interesting. Theater and all other forms of art are things that help keep the church connected to culture. If the church is speaking to people through the culture of the day, people will hopefully be able to see more of God in their every-day life. And it can help people to be more interested in and less turned-off by the church. We should not isolate ourselves from the world. If we do that, the world will not want to know God. Speaking through popular culture can help the church be in the world but not of the world. Relating to the popular culture in the church can help us learn how to sift through the things in the world to find what is good and holy in the midst of what is not. We will be better people, and better witnesses of who God is if we speak to the world using languages that are understood by the world.

So tell me what you think. If I have left something out that you think is important too. Or if I've missed the point. Or if you disagree. I want to know. Or if you were reminded of a verse in scripture while reading that, or anything. Help me and Manuel out. Thanks.

Friday, November 25, 2005

The Great American Log-Off: A week of Doober.

so here's what happened...i participated in the "Great American Log-Off" last week. (Ok, I know there were only four of us...but I think it could be a great American thing someday...if we market it correctly, right nathan? hey, remember your plan about advertising an all-carb diet, and people would go for that too, as long as you did it right?) Well, here's the up-side. I wasn't stuck in a chair for hours on end all week, doing mindless things like playing tetris and repeatedly checking blogs to see if anyone had updated within the last ten minutes. Instead, I went out, I saw movies, I did homework, I read a little, I practiced my spanish more (I talked on the phone with my boyfriend for the first time...although, I wouldn't really consider that practicing spanish. It was more like he'd say something and I'd say, "que?" a couple times before I got it and tried my best to answer. A little discouraging, but I'm glad that I did it.) I hung out with the cuz and the bro 'n fam. Saw some sweet accordian-playing. Ate a lot of good food. It was great. But it was about $40 more expensive than a normal week for me. So, I guess it's a toss-up. If I'm sitting in front of a computer all the time getting dumber, then I'm saving money. If I'm out, being active, treating my mind to new things, then I'm out 40 bucks a week. I guess there's a compromise in there somewhere, but I'm hungry, so I'm gonna go get something to eat instead of work it out. Hey, you know what the funny part is? I don't even really like tetris.

Friday, November 11, 2005

challenging my internet addoober. (i was going for addiction there)

sucker that i am, i decided to hop on the "no internet" bandwagon that my brother suggested. So I will not be updating or commenting on your updates from Monday, Novermber 14 until Monday, November 21. Don't be sad. When I return, my posts will be filled with all the wonderful new experiences I will have had during that week. maybe I will read a good book, or maybe I will invent something really neat. or perhaps I will *shudder* go outside or something. (not that I would know what to do out there, except be frightened and confused.) Anyway, join us if you will...or don't, I don't really care.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

"My name is Doober," he replied, "for we are many." Mark 5:9

"To me, the Iliad offers more insight into human character and lessons than the Bible. You know, like Jesus was angry a lot. When he turned all those people into pigs and made them run off a mountain, it was so hateful, not just to people but to pigs. I felt upset for the pigs!"

Julia Sweeny (pat from SNL) said this in an interview entitled "Finding My Religion: Julia Sweeny talks about how she became an atheist"

This is the entire interview if you're interested

I don't really recommend reading it because it will just frustrate you and there's nothing you can do about it except for sit back and know that someday she will discover how terribly wrong she has been. (hopefully she will discover that
before she dies and is greeted by the voices of the legion saying, "you idiot! there was only one person involved, and he's fine. we were the ones who jumped off the mountain.")

I just don't get why dumb people get publicity. She makes such a big deal about having spent a lot of time looking into it and researching her beliefs. Yeah, Julia...
clearly you did.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

i mean somebody had to blow up all those doobers...like one by one, you know?

here's the thing with my school...last week, apparently, was "sexuality week." all three chapels during the week were somehow to do with sex. there were speakers at night and a concert, all dealing with the important subject of sex. ok, that's fine. yeah, that's an issue that people deal with, and sure, it's a great idea to devote an entire week to teaching the Biblical design for our sexuality. Here's the kicker. Somebody decided it would be a great idea to blow up about a million condoms like balloons and tie them up all over campus. listen, i'm all for speaking up about sex and not just skirting around it like it doesn't exist as a tough issue that people deal with today...but come on. condom balloons? A) whose idea was it to put a bunch of condoms in the cafeteria? B) who actually had to blow them up? C) what the eff? D) i received my application for graduation last week, so i'm pretty excited about that...but back to the condoms...E) condom balloons? i mean seriously. i'm not even really sure what i think about it. i'm not offended...but...what? i don't know. nevermind.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Law & Order: Special Doober Unit

I definitely took this out of context, but as I was staring at my computer screen, reading about props and stupid customers and internship applications and the NBA...and something I didn't understand...haha...I heard this on Law & Order, and it made me laugh a little.

"you've got to remember, idiots love the internet. It links them together; let's them rant"