Righteous Insanity

Vacation!

I'll be on vacation the next few days, so not planning to blog. Just a few reminders though: 

Company Man will be released on June 7. This is the most important book project I've ever created, and I don't want you to miss out on its message! 

This is Righteous Insanity's 17th anniversary in June. Now through June 30 you can save 25% on everything in the Righteous Insanity catalog when you use the coupon code "seventeen" at checkout. 

Have a great week, everyone! 

The Sensitive Christian Man: Judging Others

Company Man: The woman at the well, revised

Imagine the story of the woman at the well, had a modern day evangelical been there instead of Christ.

 

CHRISTIAN: Hi there.

WOMAN: Hello.

CHRISTIAN: Would you mind giving me a drink?

WOMAN: If you knew who I was, you wouldn't be asking me.

CHRISTIAN: Why not? Who are you?
WOMAN: Well, I've had several husbands, and the man I'm living with is someone else's husband.

CHRISTIAN: Oh. (scoots away) I see.

WOMAN: Do you still want some water?

CHRISTIAN: No, no, I'm good.

WOMAN: What's the matter?

CHRISTIAN: Well, not to tell you what to do or anything. But you really need Jesus.

WOMAN: Jesus?

CHRISTIAN: Yes, Jesus. God's son.

WOMAN: The Messiah?

CHRISTIAN: Yes, that's the one.

WOMAN: I would love to meet him. Is that possible?

CHRISTIAN: Well, yes.

WOMAN: What must I do?

CHRISTIAN: Well, you've gotta move out of that guy's house for one thing.

WOMAN: Where will I go?

CHRISTIAN: I don't know. But anywhere besides there.

WOMAN: Do I really need to do this to meet Jesus? I mean, won't he see me anyway?

CHRISTIAN: No, I'm really sorry.

WOMAN: But I have no place else to go.

CHRISTIAN: You know, if you really wanted to meet him, you'd find some place.

WOMAN: Can I move in with you?
CHRISTIAN: Oooh, see, I'd love to let you, but our guest room's a mess. And we have kids.

WOMAN: I like kids.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, but see, we're trying to give them, you know, positive values?

 

Jesus didn't happen upon the woman at the well. He knew she was coming. He went there to wait for her. He sought her out. Most of us are too busy qualifying the people who want to come spend time with us Christians to bother going out and seeking the lost.

 

That's why I wrote Company Man, to call people back to the core of what it means to be like Christ. Our job is not to demand others live by the law. Our job is to live by the law ourselves while reaching out in love to others.

 

Like and office manager who has lost all concept of what it was like to be 'in the trenches," the church has become far too insulated from the world to reach it effectively. The world's not coming to us. We have to get out of our churches and get back to seeking and saving the lost!

Thoughts on props and costumes

Buying props and costumes for your drama team can and does happen for one of two reasons, reasons that are not unlike shopping for certain other things in life:

1. You need them for a certain drama coming up;

2. They're really cool/amazing/cute/cheap.

It may seem the wiser course to only buy props and costumes using the first reason. The only problem with that strategy is you're likely to accumulate a number of props that only have one use for that one scene.

When you buy for the second reason, you end up looking for excuses to use that cool/amazing/cheap/cute item as often as possible in order to justify your purchase. When you're on a budget (and we all are, right?), it's wise not only to apply this thinking to the items you don't really need, but the ones that you needed just that one time.

The drama closet at the church where I served for seven years accumulated a number of strange props. Some fell to the bottom of the closet. Many of them saw repeated use. We wrote as many scripts as we could to use and re-use the things we had on hand, and only went out to buy when we absolutely had to. Thus the two lab coats, the Snow White dress, the prom gowns, the monks robe (which we split down the front to turn into a Jedi robe), and even the make-shift gorilla costume were used as often as possible.

When I first saw Clive the Zombie online, I didn't even think about buying him. As cool as he was, I didn't have anything for a zombie puppet. Over the following weeks, I began to get ideas. I started talking to friends about doctoring up a normal puppet into a zombie. Once I knew he was worth the investment, I went back and bought him. He's been featured in 5 shorts, with two more on the way, and he's been a hit at film festivals. He was the right find at the right time, as I had just wrapped the Fluffy series and wanted to find something new to use in producing films for the festival circuit.

It's our responsibility to use the resources we have wisely. Using the heck out of the props and costumes we need and want is not only a good way to stretch your budget, it will challenge you creatively. And who knows what might come of that!

New skit - "Get to Know Me!"

Odd little skit that came out of a reading from Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest." A good reminder to make sure that Christ is our King and not our work - even work done for him. 

 

Get to Know Me!

By John Cosper

www.righteousinsanity.com

 

CHARACTERS

Stu- A semi-wacky boss, very boisterous, eccentric, and friendly

David- A new employee, eager to please

 

The stage is set as an executive office. There's a huge desk with a huge chair and two tiny chairs on the other side. Stu and David enter. Stu has his arm around David. David is in a suit, while Stu is very business casual - khakis, shirt, dress shoes with no socks.

 

STU: So, David, is it?

DAVID: Uh, yes, sir.

STU: Welcome aboard, Dave.

DAVID: Thank you, sir. Very happy to be here.

STU: Have a seat, please.

DAVID: Thank you.

 

David sits down. Stu sits on the edge of his desk.

 

STU: Excited to be here?

DAVID: Yes, sir! I heard great things about this company.

STU: We do a lot of great things, Dave.

DAVID: Yes, sir.

STU: Please, don't call me "sir." It's just "Stu."

DAVID: Sorry, sir-- I mean, Stu.

 

They sit in awkward silence.

 

DAVID: So, where do I start?

STU: Right here, of course.

DAVID: Here? (looks around) This isn't my office, is it?

STU: (laughs heartily) No, no. We'll get you a spot when the time is right. But for now, your work begins here.

DAVID: Uh, okay. (looks around) So can I answer a phone for you? Fill out a report? Sweep up?

STU: David, I don't want you to do a thing.

DAVID: You don't? (pauses, thinks) Are you still going to pay me?

STU: Sure. If you do the job.

DAVID: But you just said you don't want me to do a thing.

STU: Dave, you're going to do lots of things for me. But your first and most important task is getting to know this guy right here.

 

Stu points to himself with his thumb.

 

DAVID: Sir? I mean, Stu?

STU: That's right. Your first priority is to get to know me.

DAVID: It is?

STU: Is that a problem for you?

DAVID: Well, no, it's not a problem. It's just a little... odd.

STU: Is it?

DAVID: Well, I've never had a boss that wanted me to get to know them. Most of them never even got my name right.

STU: Is that so?

DAVID: My last boss shook my hand the day I left and said, "All the best to you, Steve."

STU: I assure you, that's not going to happen here.

DAVID: I can see that. But still, I think my talents would be best served out there in the office. I'm proficient in all Microsoft Office applications, and I know my way around a Mac.

STU: David, you have all the talent in the world. But all that talent is no good unless you and I are good.

DAVID: It's not?

STU: This is my company. It's my baby, my vision. I have no doubt you can bring a lot to this organization. That's why I sought you out and hired you. But I'm telling you, you have one priority above all others. Fail me at this, and it doesn't matter how much talent you have, you'll never get a thing done out there. Dave, you've got to get to know me.

DAVID: That is the weirdest, most messed up thing any one has ever said to me.

 

Seventeen years of Righteous Insanity

Seventeen years ago, I put together a small packet of four skits for a workshop I would teach in June of 1994 at a Christ In Youth Conference in Adrian, Michigan. I titled the packet, "Righteous Insanity." Two months later, the book title became the name of a drama ministry that continues to this day, providing scripts, short films, and writing services to ministries and churches around the world.

 

In celebration of seventeen years of ministry, we're offering an anniversary discount of 25% on all orders now through June 30. Use the coupon code seventeen at checkout and take 25% off your entire order. No limits, no restrictions.

 

It's a good excuse to get ahead on planning for the fall, or for Christmas and Easter next year. And it's a simple way to say thank you for seventeen amazing years.

 

Go to http://shop.righteousinsanity.com to shop now. And remember to use the coupon code seventeen at check out!

Company Man: What kind of Jesus are you?

One of the favorite lines when I was growing up in church was, "You are the only Jesus some people will ever see." It's a shame the gravity of that statement misses so many people. What must people think when they see Jesus as people who spew hateful rhetoric in the arena of politics, people who can't have a civil discussion and resort to personal attacks in place of dialogue?

 

No, I am not saying the other side does any better; only that Christians SHOULD!

 

Many Christians today have become sheltered and isolated from the real world. They can't connect with someone outside their church because they have nothing to connect with. They live in a Christian bubble, with no concept of what others outside the church know as real life. They can't even begin to break through because they are so prejudiced by their narrow view of the world.

 

On June 7, I'll be releasing a new book, Company Man. It's a business parable-type book, much like the pithy, quotable books you find in the check out line at Office Depot. Only this book isn't about business; it's about becoming what some used to call "contagious Christians," people who draw others to Christ instead of driving them away.

 

The world needs a Savior. If we're the only Savior they see, the world is in trouble.

Watch it now: How to Catch a Zombie

Clive the Zombie is back for another epic tale of zombies and metaphors. See Clive's other shorts and get the ministry study guide for his films at Clive's Official Web Page

New Clive the Zombie film Sunday!

How to Catch a Zombie is the latest short featuring Clive the Zombie. In this installment, a young man finds a zombie living in his basement. After feeding him a few random victims (to keep himself off the menu), a friend suggests he might contact a Zombie Catcher to help remove the monster. 

As always, there's more to the movie than just a zombie puppet eating puppet brains. I'll be updating the Clive the Zombie study guide with a new entry to assist you in using the film as a ministry tool.

There's more Clive the Zombie on the way later this year. Coming in June or July will be Attack of the Resurrected American, and coming in the Fall/Winter of 2010 and 2011 will be the sequel to Zombies R Friends, Zombies R Forever. Sonny Burnette, Daniel Emery Taylor, and Caroline O'Neil will be reprising their respective roles as the Sheriff, the Deputy, and the Sheriff's Grandma alongside the legendary zombie puppet himself.

 

Allowing non-believers in your drama ministry

One of my favorite Christian metal artists back in the day was a guy who loved to feature guitar soloists from a number of LA bands on his albums. One one particular track on his second disc, he had no less than eight different guitarists featured playing screaming hair metal band guitar solos. As a fan of the music, I went to look up some of the bands represented on that particular track - and was shocked to discover not one of them was from a Christian band!

 

I later learned there was an interesting motive to this inclusive maneuver by the artist: it gave him a chance to share his faith with guys who were not believers. Including these great players on his Christian album gave him a chance to expose them to the gospel. In several cases he was able to lead fellow metal heads to the Lord, and it all started because he allowed them in the studio.

 

A few years later I was running a youth drama team at my church. As the group grew in popularity with the students who attended our youth events, some non-believers became interested in joining. As a young pup in college running a ministry who didn't know any better, I let them in. I'n happy to say it didn't take long for the gospel to reach these young kids and transform them into believers.

 

Despite this, I had to defend the policy of allowing non-believers in the group every summer to our youth pastor. It wasn't hard to sway him, considering every year I could give him a longer list of names of kids who had accepted Christ after joining the group.

 

Non-believers were held to the same standards as the church members and believers in the group. Everyone signed a code of conduct that they had to follow, and non believers were not allowed to do any kind of prayer or altar counseling. None of the kids ever balked at this. Most were grateful for the opportunity to perform. In fact the one time we kicked kids out of the group for conduct, the kids in question were (sadly enough) long time church members.

 

To this day, I don't limit productions, on stage or on film, to believers. Doing so, especially with film, limits your talent pool. It also closes the door to personal connections that can lead to evangelism. Anyone who steps onto one of my sets is someone God has led my way. I pray for them, and I hope to see many of them have their hearts and minds (some very hardened) changed by the Lord.

 

I understand there are circumstances and places where this wouldn't be ideal, and I don't look down on anyone who would choose to do other wise. But it's worth consideration, is it not?