Praying in Color :: Images of Prayer

When it comes to prayer, many of us can find ourselves word-weary or easily distracted. There's the struggle with a short attention span or a restless body. I'm looking forward to our new series on prayer called Praying in Color. In it, we're going be exploring some creative and engaging ways to connect with God in prayer.  The life of prayer, may never be the same again.

Tonight, I'm introducing the idea of praying beyond words. Here's a snapshot of my thoughts...

Capturing Inspiration...

Where does inspiration come from...? At times it seems like inspiration for a message, teaching, writing, song, etc comes from some mystical place. Yet, more often than not, it's simply the byproduct of becoming aware of what's going on within us and around us, along with a sense of the divine spark lighting on fire (as it were) the mundane bushes before us... 

“Earth is crammed with heaven,and every common bush is on fire with God;but only he who sees takes off his shoes; the rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 As I'm writing and developing thoughts, there are a few artists I tend to pull up in the iTunes to play in the background. One of those is Brooke Fraser. In the following clips she shares about what it looks like for her to capture inspiration in the everyday moments and encounters of life.

FLAGS PREVIEW - Writing from Brooke Fraser on Vimeo.

"Creativity, has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know
in order to find out what we do not know.
Hence, to think creatively,
we must be able to look afresh
at what we normally take for granted."    
— George Kneller 

"Anyone can look for fashion in a boutique
or history in a museum.
The creative explorer
looks for history in a hardware store
and fashion in an airport."
— Robert Wiede

The Power of a Storytelling

Stories have enormous power, unfortunately the very essence of that power is often crippled in the telling. True storytellers simply know how to communicate old stories in new ways. And, even when they use the same plot as before, it always seems to take on new life. This life flows not from some new fabrication of the events at hand, rather the outworking of a life that's actually been there. The aliveness comes from the life the story has within them, it just simply can't be contained.

Martin Buber once commented about the power of stories:

"A story must be told in such a way that it constitutes help in itself.

My grandfather was lame. Once they asked him to tell a story about his teacher. And he related how his teacher used to hop and dance while he prayed. My grandfather rose as he spoke, and he was so swept away by his story that he began to hop and dance to show how the master had done. From that hour he was cured of his lameness.

That's how to tell a story."

I'm fascinated not only how our very lives have been shaped by stories, but how powerful stories become in the authentic creative telling. Creativity is often simply pausing long enough to allow new ways to emerge for telling an old story. It is the very pause of contemplation that becomes the path that simply takes one deeper into the story itself.

The following is a short video by Storyteller Jay O'Callahan talking and demonstrating the power of stories.

The Learning Revolution

A while back, I referenced one of my favorite talks by Sir Ken Robinson. In this talk, he explores the idea of - Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Recently, Robinson gave another talk Bring on the Learning Revolution. Here, he makes several interesting comments that have great relevance on education, creativity and personal pursuit of passion(s). Several of his later remarks would make great conversation pieces as it relates to the Church. Rather than extract various thoughts and quotes, I've simply posted the 18:00 presentation.

Sundays Coming...

Ever thought about why we do what we do? How we do it? When we do it? The way we do it?

Here's an interestingly look at Sunday Mornings... Does it resemble your church?

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

forty words of lent in motion

We developed a devotional journal to go along with our Lent series (forty), that starts tonight (Ash Wednesday). I'm looking forward to what transpires in my own heart (as well as within my family and church community) as a result of journeying through the devotional together.

Our graphic designer Joe Cavazos took forty key words that we'll be using during this series and created the graphic for the series and the cover design for the devotional.

Here's what three fascinating hours of his day looked like as he pulled this together:

How Christianity Transformed Civilization :: part 3

Imprints of Education

“These commandments that I give you
today are to be upon your hearts.

Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home
and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up.”
(Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NIV)

“The fear of the LORD
is the beginning of knowledge.”
(Proverbs 1:7 NIV)

“Every school you see – public or private, religious or secular – is a visible reminder of the religion of Jesus Christ. So is every college and university,”[i] writes Dr. James Kennedy in his book What if Jesus had Never Been Born?. He continues,

“This is not to say that every school is Christian. Often the exact opposite is true. But the fact is that the phenomenon of education for the masses has its roots in Christianity. Nor is this to say that there wasn’t education before Christianity, but it was for the elite only. Christianity gave rise to the concept of education for everyone.

From the beginning of Christianity, there has been an emphasis on the Word of God. This grows out of its strong Jewish roots, since Christianity is derived from Judaism. Christians have often been called the “people of the Book,” which implies a literate people. Dr. J. D. Douglas, general editor of The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, writes: “From its beginning the religion of the Bible has gone hand in hand with teaching. . . Christianity is par excellence a teaching religion, and the story of it’s growth is largely an education one. . . as Christianity spread, patterns of more formal education developed.[ii]

Many of the world’s languages were first set to writing by Christian missionaries in order for people to read the Bible for themselves. Similarly, a monumental development in the field of human learning was the printing press. Johann Gutenberg (1398-1468), was the first to develop a movable type printing press that made it possible to mass produce books. Gutenberg is reported to have said, “I know what I want to do: I wish to manifold [print] the Bible.” To achieve this, he “converted a wine press, so it pressed pages onto the type blocks.”[iii]”

“While Christians were not the first to engage in formal teaching activities in school-like settings,” writes historian Alvin Schmidt in Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization, “they appear to have been first to teach both sexes in the same setting.”[iv] Schmidt continues,

“Given that Christianity from its beginning accepted both men and women into its fold and required that both learn the rudiments of the Christian faith, both men and women were catechized before being baptized and received into church membership. Furthermore, catechetical instruction commonly continued after baptism.”

Instructing both men and women, as the early Christians did, was rather revolutionary. Although there is no unanimity among historians, many indicate that the Romans before the birth of Christ did not formally educate girls in literary skills. Their schools, says one educational historian, apparently only taught boys – and then only boys from the privileged class – in their gymnasia, while the girls were excluded.[v] In light of this ancient practice, Tatian, once a student in one of Justin Martyr’s catechetical schools, proclaimed that Christians taught everybody, including girls and women.[vi]

Formally educating both sexes was also largely a Christian innovation. W. M. Ramsay states that Christianity’s aim was “universal education, not education confined to the rich, as among the Greeks and Romans…and it [made] not distinction of sex.”[vii]

Christians taught individuals from all social classes and ethnic backgrounds, especially in preparation for church membership. There was no ethnic bias.

The most significant move in the direction of universal education occurred with the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. Martin Luther and John Calvin both advocated for universal education. Calvin’s Geneva plan included “a system of elementary education in the vernacular for all, including reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and religion, and the establishment of secondary school for the purpose of training citizens for civil and ecclesiastical leadership.”[viii] Martin Luther, along with co-worker Philipp Melanchthon successfully persuaded the civic authorities to implement the first public school system in Germany, which was tax-supported.[ix]

Thus, the desire to have public tax-supported schools, whether wise or not, even in a society where Christian values predominate, has its roots in the thinking of prominent Christian reformers like Luther, Calvin, and Comenius. Although public schools have by now become totally secularized, especially in the United States, they originated with individuals who were motivated by the love of Jesus Christ, whom they wanted taught for people’s spiritual and material benefit.

In addition, it was Christian ministers who were responsible for bringing Sign Language to America and developing educational schools for the Deaf. It was also a Christian man by the name of Louis Braille, who by 1834, gave to the world of the blind six embossed dots, three high and two wide, for each letter of the alphabet. So that Braille’s accomplishments don’t seem divorced from any influence of Christianity, listen to what he said as he lay on his deathbed, “I am convinced that my mission is finished on earth; I tasted yesterday the supreme delight; God condescended to brighten my eyes with the splendor of eternal hope.”[x]”

Finally, let’s look at universities.

The best evidence indicates that universities grew out of the Christian monasteries. However, given the powerful influence that secularism now has on most Americans, they are probably not aware that “every collegiate institution founded in the colonies prior to the Revolutionary War – except the University of Pennsylvania – was established by some branch of the Christian church.”[xi] Nor are most Americans aware that in 1932, when Donald Tewksbury published The Founding of American Colleges and Universities Before the Civil War, 92 percent of the 182 colleges and universities were founded by Christian denominations.

Catechetical schools, cathedral schools, Episcopal schools, monasteries, and medieval universities, schools for the blind and deaf, Sunday schools, modern grade schools, secondary schools, modern colleges, universities, and universal education all have one thing in common: they are the products of Christianity. Individuals in Western societies spend many years in schools, colleges, or universities, but they have learned very little about the contributions Christianity has made to education, so highly treasured today. In the absence of this knowledge, it is not only Christianity that has been slighted, but Jesus Christ as well. Were it not for him and his teachings, who knows what stage of development education would be today?

Consider the following excerpt written by Dr. James Kennedy[xii]:

While more than 200 years of Christian education in this country produced a .04 percent illiteracy rate, what has public and increasingly secularized education succeeded in doing? In spite of the fact that more than a trillion dollars have been poured into the educational system, what has happened? The illiteracy rate has increased 32 times. Today, we have 40 million illiterates! In addition there are an estimated 30 million more functional illiterates in this country.

A report entitled A Nation at Risk, released by the U.S. Department of Education in the 1980’s, sums it up well: “If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. . . we have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament.”[xiii]

Pray: Take a few moments and pray for our local school
system.

---

[i] Kennedy, What if Jesus had Never Been Born?, 40.

[ii] Douglas, The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, 330-331. Quoted by James Kennedy, What if Jesus had Never Been Born?, 41.

[iii] Hyatt Moore, ed., The Alphabet Makers: A Presentation from the Museum of the alphabet, Waxhaw, North Carolina, (Huntington Beach, CA: Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1990), 13. Quoted by James Kennedy, What if Jesus had Never Been Born?, 43.

[iv] Schmidt, Under the Influence, 172.

[v] Kenneth J. Freeman, Schools of Hellas, (London: Macmillan, 1922), 46. Quoted in Under the Influence, 172.

[vi] Titian, “Address of Tatian to the Greeks,” in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 2:78. Quoted in Under the Influence, 172.

[vii] W. M. Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire Before A.D. 170, (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1893), 345. Quoted in Under the Influence, 172.

[viii] Lars P. Qualben, A History of the Christian Church, (New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1958), 270. Quoted in Under the Influence, 176.

[ix] Douglas H. Shantz, “Philipp Melanchthon: The Church’s Teacher, Luther’s Colleague,” Christian Info News, (February 1997). Quoted in Under the Influence, 179.

[x] Etta DeGering, Seeing Fingers: The Story of Louis Braille, (New York: Julian Messner, 1951), 11. Quoted in Under the Influence, 183.

[xi] Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times, (Rockville, Md.: Assurance Publishers, 1984), 157. Quoted in Under the Influence, 190.

[xii] Kennedy, What if Jesus had Never Been Born?, 55.

[xiii] A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, A Report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education by The National Commission on Excellence in Education, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Eduation, 1983), 5

Leaders Should Act Like Artist :: Artist Should Act Like Leaders

Recently, Kem Meyer, author of LESS CLUTTER. LESS NOISE, linked a couple of great posts on the inter-connectivity of the skills demonstrated by leaders and artist, and how they can learn from each other.

How leaders should act like artists (from Harvard Business):

1. Artists constantly collaborate. The example given was the common occurrence of an exhibition with multiple artists showing together, or the so-called "group show." Even in the context of a solo show, the artist works with the gallery owner, the curator, the framers, the installers, the lighting person, the publicist to bring their vision to life. Every exhibition is a collaboration to the nth degree.
   
   
2. Artists are talented communicators. The whole point of a work of art is to communicate something — a thought, an idea, a feeling, a vision. More explicitly, the artist frequently gives a talk to explain the thought process behind the artwork. Engaging the audience in a meaningful, expansive dialogue is often critical to the exhibition's success.
   
   
3. Artists learn how to learn together. Perhaps the reason why artists collaborate and socialize so well is that they learn in the studio model — ten or more students in the same room for hours on end. Bonded together in a personal space of intimate self-expression, they come into their own through the familial ties of the studio setting. When interviewed recently about the differences in her education at Brown and at RISD, one student who is getting a dual degree from both institutions said, "At RISD there's a lot of learning from your peers. Brown (in the classes I've taken so far anyway) is about listening and note-taking in class."

How artists should act like leaders (from Accidental Creative):

1. I speak my mind and fight for ideas but refuse to play the “victim” when my idea doesn’t win out.
2. I do what’s in the best interest of the team and the project, even when it costs me something.
3. I do the little things that matter even when I could feasibly cut corners.
4. I stretch myself to see things from new points of view.
5. I think strategically, even when I don’t have all the information I want.
6. I don’t point fingers, talk trash or assign blame behind closed doors.
7. I have something that guides my creating beyond comfort and preference.

Statistics are not Boring, Neither Should We...

We've all sat through our share of boring lectures, classes, even sermons.

Frequently I'm amazed at how subjects that are multi-layered and awe inspiring like the Story of Scripture, the wonder of creation or the dynamics of human history can be flattened down to a mere linear-monotone-humdrum captivity, resulting in what feels like a fatal death by bullet-point.

Let's face it, communicating to a group of people, regardless of the size can be a challenging undertaking. Further, there are certain subjects that seem to not leave much room for creative interpretation or innovative and engaging communication.

Statistics could be one of those subjects.

After all, how much can one do with numbers and graphs to captivate an audience? Hans Rosling is one of those aforementioned persons who deals with copious amounts of data. He is a professor of International Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Rosling is however, an example of someone who can take a subject as seemingly mundane and sleep inducing as statistics and communicate it in a way that is humorous, informative, entertaining, no to mention inspiring.

Recently, Hans gave a talk at TEDIndia in which he vividly demonstrates that statistics are not boring. He brilliantly presents more than numbers, data and statistical predictions. He conveys the story that is actually behind the statistics and the names behind the numbers.

His video is one worth watching. (link)

Hans' video causes me to imaginatively wonder what other subjects have we marginalized to boring, irrelevant, or simply unappealing? Subjects and topics, that if only communicated in the form of a story could come to live with penetrating power?

Creative Inducing Stocking Stuffers

Looking for a stocking stuffer or gift for family members or co-workers?

Perhaps, you should consider a set of juggling balls.

Juggling actually increases learning and can serve to develop new neurosigntures and grooves in the brain. Juggling can actually enhance creativity.

Research has shown that working with one's hands while thinking, increases brain activity and generates greater creative flow.

Juggling is a fun clinical approach to improving one's mental, emotional and of course physical well-being. It is form of activity that works to balance both hemispheres of the brain (right brain & left brain) to improve motor-skill functions, reading, writing, creativity and ability to focus on tasks. It can help reduce and prevent the development of Anxiety, Alzheimer's and depression.

While you're at it, grab a classical CD. According to numerous studies have shown that classical music has a quantitative effect on us intellectually and emotionally. It's referred to as the "Mozart Effect."

It even works with cows.

Psychologists at the University of Leicester, UK, played music of different tempos to herds of Friesian cattle. Dairy cows produce more milk when listening to relaxing music, say researchers. They believe farmers could get an extra pint from their charges by playing classical music or smoochy numbers in the cowshed.

So, if your stumped for economical, actually useful gifts ideas. Grab a set of juggling balls and a Mozart CD and make someone in your life a little brighter, smarter, neurologically healthy, not to mention creative.

If you're cheap... The dollar store typically has classical CD's, as well as medium size bouncy balls. Do a little creative wrap-job and presto...

Juggling Enhances Brain Power

A study shows learning how to juggle can actually change the structure of the brain in adults and increase areas involved in thought and processing.

Researchers say the findings challenge the notion that the structure of the adult brain does not change except for negative changes caused by aging or disease. Instead, the study suggests that learning produces not only functional but structural changes in the brain.

Juggling Actually Boosts Brain Power

In order to see if the structure of the adult brain changes in response to demands, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to look at the brains of adults who have learned to juggle.

In the study, published in the Jan. 22 issue of Nature, researchers divided a group of young adults who had no experience in juggling into two groups. One group was given three months to learn how to juggle three balls simultaneously, and the others remained non-jugglers.

MRI scans were performed at the start of the study, after the jugglers became skilled performers and could juggle for at least 60 seconds, and three months later. During that three-month period, the jugglers did not practice or attempt to extend their skills.

Although the participants had similar brain scans at the start of the study, the second scan revealed that the jugglers experienced significant expansion in the area of the brain associated with the processing and storage of complex visual motion.

The amount of expansion also correlated with the juggler's performance. The more skilled they became, the greater growth they experienced.

The increased areas seen on brain scans among the jugglers declined by the third brain scan. The non-jugglers showed no change in brain structure during the study.

Researchers say the temporary brain structure changes occurred in motion-selective areas of the brain, and the mechanism behind these changes is unclear and merits further study.

[SOURCE: Draganski, B. Nature, Jan. 22, 2004; vol 427: pp 311-312.]

Capuring Creative Ideas with EverNote

Often as I'm out at a store, a park or simply riding around town, I see something that sparks an idea. Sometimes someone will say something that resonates deeply within. Or, perhaps a book is mentioned. In each of these scenarios, my mind is flooded with thoughts, however the time and space of the moment don't give ample time to reflect or develop the thought further.

During these moments, I always pull out my smartphone (which most days isn't all that smart) and send myself an email with the idea. At other times, I'll jam the thought into my calendar or simply write it on a piece of paper or a napkin.

Imperative to the creative process of a communicator, or anyone for that matter, is developing a system that allows you to capture thoughts, ideas, inspirations, and the like.

All of the world is a canvas and each individual is an interesting story to be read. I love what Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance Man wrote,

“I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. Why shells existed on the tops of mountains along with the imprints of coral and plants and seaweed usually found in the sea. Why the thunder lasts a longer time than that which causes it and why immediately on its creation the lighting becomes visible to the eye while thunder requires time to travel. How the various circles of water form around the spot which has been struck by a stone and why a bird sustains itself in the air. These questions and other strange phenomena engaged my thought throughout my life.”

If you're looking for a way to capture ideas, check out EVERNOTE. It synchronizes your notes to any Mac, PC, iPhone and Windows Mobile, or you can use the web interface. And it recognizes handwriting or printed text in images. Once synced, which is a simple process, you can view the information from you desktop, laptop, cell phone or any other computer. It's fabulous for capturing thoughts and ideas on the go, or simply brainstorming at your desk.

The following clip shows some of the practical uses of EVERNOTE.

Family Activities for the Holidays

Interactive Family Ideas for the Holiday


(Please note that each idea has a graded code at the end. P is for Preschool children, E is for Elementary children, T is for Teenagers, and A is for Adults.)

1. Using large sheets of paper, everyone in the family draws pictures of things they're thankful for. Keep the artwork for next year and display them side by side. (PETA)

2. Create a Thankful Box, in which family members put slips of paper telling what they're thankful for. After dinner, read the papers out loud. (ETA)

3. Encourage each person to bring some special object to the table that represents what they are thankful for this year. Let each take a turn to share their object and how it represents their thankfulness. (ETA)

4. Experience dinner together with only candlelight. Reflect on what it would be like to be without lighting, heat, shelter, etc. Spend some time praying together, thanking God for all that you have, as well as praying for those in need this season. (PETA)

5. Write a card to someone you are especially thankful for. Be sure to allow time, material and stamps so this project will work. (PETA)

The Transformative Element of Joy

Change is often difficult to come by. This is especially true when it comes to the deeply ingrained issues within our lives. Many resort to all kinds of tactics in hopes of making some progress. Often, these approaches to change bear little lasting change.

During these times we forget that Jesus said He actually came to "give us life." And, not just life, but "life to the full." Part of this life, as characterized by Jesus, should encompass joy.

Perhaps at times, joy is the missing component in our endeavors to undergo personal/spiritual transformation. There have been a series of experimental studies done in regards to a person's behavioral response to doing various tasks. The core catalytic ingredient causing change was simply joy and a little bit of creativity.

Experiment #1: Take the Stairs

”Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers. Few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do?



Experiment #2: Pick up Trash & Use the Trash Can
To throw rubbish in the bin instead of onto the floor shouldn’t really be so hard. Many people still fail to do so. Can we get more people to throw rubbish into the bin, rather than onto the ground, by making it fun to do?




Perhaps some of us don't so much need a more structured plan for development, rather a little joy and creativity.

What creative and joy-filled practices can you think of for personal and spiritual transformation.

Do Schools Kill Creativity...?

One of the things I've loved about the past few summers, as I mentioned in a recent post, is the down time from classes to read books of various topics that my class schedule, not to mention work and life, don't always leave much room for.

As such, Mr. USPS just dropped off my box of goodies. There's just something about getting an Amazon box in the mail. It always makes me warm and fuzzy deep down inside. (Strange I know, but it's true).

One of the books bundled up is one that I've had in my "wishlist" for some time now eagerly waiting to purchase and read. It's Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative by Ken Robinson. Ken Robinson is an expert on creativity and education.

Below, is one of my favorite videos by Ken Robinson. In his presentation at TED, Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He presents ways in which our current educational systems actually "kill creativity," rather than nurture it. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.

I think many of the principles embedded in this talk extend well beyond the range of childhood and school systems to the everyday fabrics of our lives, particularly to those who are parents and communicators, or simply human.

A Father with Imagination...

I love to play with my kids... 

...And, I do it ALOT! 

Obviously, some things are more fun than others, but I've discovered pretty much anything can become a blast, if I simply become fully-present in the moment, push pause on all the things that beg for me head-space, and release a little creative imagination...

Last week, I saw the movie Imagine That. From the moment I watched the preview, I was hooked. The movie is a great reminder of the significant influence that is present when a father is fully-present to the moments of life with his children, not to mention the power of creativity, imagination and communication. 

The following highlights a clip from the movie, along with a few father's day thoughts...

How to Tell a Story

Stories have enormous power, unfortunately the very essence of that power is often crippled in the telling. True storytellers simply know how to communicate old stories in new ways. And, even when they use the same plot as before, it always seems to take on new life. This life flows not from some new fabrication of the events at hand, rather the outworking of a life that's actually been there. The aliveness comes from the life the story has within them, it just simply can't be contained.

Martin Buber once commented about the power of stories:

"A story must be told in such a way that it constitutes help in itself.

My grandfather was lame. Once they asked him to tell a story about his teacher. And he related how his teacher used to hop and dance while he prayed. My grandfather rose as he spoke, and he was so swept away by his story that he began to hop and dance to show how the master had done. From that hour he was cured of his lameness.

That's how to tell a story."

I'm fascinated not only how our very lives have been shaped by stories, but how powerful stories become in the authentic creative telling. Creativity is often simply pausing long enough to allow new ways to emerge for telling an old story. It is the very pause of contemplation that becomes the path that simply takes one deeper into the story itself.

The following is a simple, yet catchy and creative way of telling an everyday story.

Living on One-Buttock

Ealier this week, I did a post around Malcolm Gladwell’s insights from his recently released book Outliners. Part of his thesis explores the various ways in which our culture squanders talent and human potential. Benjamin Zander is another individual who has much to say about human potential. He has dedicated his life to “pulling out” and developing aspiring musicians to excel beyond the status quo. Zander is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He has some inspiring and provoking thoughts on our view of the world, possibility, leadership and personal transformation.

Zander contends that many people in the world approach life from one of two vantage points. One group sees the world as a place of “the downward spiral”. Regardless of the situation, they are predisposed to see what’s wrong. The other, look at the exact same circumstances, yet conclude that this is a situation of “radiating possibility”.


He shares the following story in regards to our view of situations.

There once were “two salesmen who went to Africa in the 1900s: they were sent down to see if there was any opportunity for selling shoes and they wrote telegrams back to Manchester. And one of them wrote: ‘Situation hopeless. Stop. They don’t wear shoes.’ And the other one wrote: ‘Glorious opportunity, they don’t have any shoes yet.’”

Recently, Zander gave a presentation at the Pop! Tech 2008 conference. It is a brilliant presentation! It is one of the most passionate, authentic and inspiring presentations I can remember seeing in some time. He models what it means to give way to your passions and do what he calls “playing on buttock.”

It is not enough to know a piece of music intellectually. It is not even enough to play it without any mistakes, which is all most ever aspire to. Zander says that beyond the notes of the page, you have to convey the true language of the music emotionally. Something happens, Zander observes, when a musician goes beyond the notes and the score on the page and begin to play the music from the heart with emotion. Such playing deeply moves the audience. When the music flows through a musician like this, it begins to take over their very bodies, they sway, they move side to side and back and forth, there’s a rhythm and a groove. As they play, their bodies lean, even to the point of being on “one buttock.” They become “one-buttock players.”

In doing so, one allows the music flow through their bodies, causing them to lean and to move from one buttock to the other. If you’re a musician, or making a performance of virtually any kind, and you are totally in the moment and connecting with the language of the music and the audience, there is no way you can be a “two-buttock player.” You’ve got to move, you’ve got to connect, and you must not hold back your passion but instead let the audience have a taste of the commitment, energy, and passion you have for the music. To play on “one-buttock” means we allow ourselves to give way to God-given passion(s). This doesn’t only apply to musicians. It applies to all of us.

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy,
a quickening that is translated through you into action,
and because there is only one of you in all of time,
this expression is unique.
And if you block it, it will never exist through
any other medium and it will be lost.
The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is
nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly,
to keep the channel open.”

~Martha Graham quoted in
The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander

Each of us has a choice. We can give way to passion and live on “one-buttock” or we can hold back, aim not to make an error and play life on “two-buttocks.” One life is lived in mono black and white, while the other resounds in full colors and stereo surround sound. One is safe, the other is risky. One is dead and decaying, the other is alive and vivrant.

As Ben Zander said to one of his talented students while encouraging them to play it in the “one-buttock” style:

“If you play that way,
they won’t be able to resist you.
You will be a compelling force
behind which everyone
will be inspired to play their best.”

~Ben Zander

Below is Zander’s phenomenal presentation at Pop!Teck 2008 given back in October.

Video Recap of The Ark - Journey Encounter

See more about last week's Journey Encounter here.

"Youths Build Ark, Nail Noah's Story," is the heading over the article that ran this morning in the South Bend Tribunes faith section.

You can read the full article here or read below:

Youths build ark, nail Noah’s story

By ALICE CULP
Tribune Staff Writer

This summer, a group of children in kindergarten through fifth grade built an ark.

Of course, their ark does not follow the same dimensions as the biblical version. Noah’s ark, which was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high, was similar to the size of a modern-day cargo ship. Still, the kids’ model is no toy, measuring 70 feet long, 14 feet wide and 18 feet high.

It sits near the parking lot at their church, SouthGate Church (formerly Calvary Temple) in South Bend.

“We decided that the best way for anyone to understand a story of Scripture was to experience it,” says Jerrell Jobe, a member of the pastoral staff.

The adults at SouthGate did a lot of research on the ark before an architect at Forsey Construction Inc. in South Bend drew a blueprint for them. Then, carpenters in the church helped the kids build it.

On Wednesday nights the kids examined the story of Noah from different angles — the history and culture of the time, God’s promises and faithfulness, Noah’s obedience, etc. Then, they worked on the ark — painting and screwing boards together.

“In the beginning they couldn’t even conceptualize how big the ark was,” Jobe says.

In fact, when they stopped work the first night, the kids didn’t feel they’d accomplished anything.

“We told them, ‘Imagine how Noah felt doing this for 120 years,’æ” Jobe says, laughing. “We wanted them to understand how big the ark really was and … that we believe God has a plan and purpose for each and every person, and this includes children.”

The children caught on quickly.

“They really pondered the question: How can (God) use me to change the world? Some of the responses were pretty astounding,” Jobe says. “They have not just said ‘Hey, this is cool,’ but on their own initiative have started to live out these things.”

Sunday, several of the fifth-graders shared their insights with about 500 members of the congregation during an outdoor service that used the ark as a backdrop.

One girl shared that God told her that he wanted her to go into nursing homes and pray for people. So, she got her grandfather to take her.

A boy explained that God told him, ‘I want to use math in your life to change the world.’ He talked to his teacher and is now set up with a tutor.

Another girl says God is leading her to work with autistic children, including a neighbor. A third girl thinks God is asking her to raise money for kids in the hospital. She and her mother are already researching options.

Now that the ark is finished, Jobe says the church plans to leave it up for about a month. Then they will donate the wood to a good cause."