Live Out Loud

Email This Post

live out loud…that’s the tag line of our students and student ministry. i think it’s obvious what that phrase means, but here goes a simply complex explanation.

i was taught to imagine scripture as a five act play missing the last act. act 1: creation, act 2: fall, act 3: israel, act 4: jesus, act 5: the church (us).

what if we discovered a shakespearean play missing the final act? it had to the potential to be the most important shakespearean work, but it has to be finished. it wouldnt do to simply repeat the previous acts, to repeat act 1 in the staging of act 5. that wouldnt make sense simply to repeat act 4. instead the actors have to improvise and act out the last of the play in a way that’s faithful to the rest of the story, but also innovative and creative. the final act not only has to be creative, but consistent, too. ultimately, we know how the play ends (the final scene), we just have to figure out what’s in between. so we look to the beginning and the end of the play to figure out what we’re supposed to do.

so in the same way that jesus fulfilled scripture (look at how often he uses isaiah), we must do the same: faithful fulfillment. this model eliminates legalism and offers new insights in how we should live.  it enables us to act in context to the story and world around us. it shows us ways to be both faithful to the sacred text and relevant to society. it puts us in touch with actors who have gone before us, trying to live out the story. in so many levels and so many ways, we can “live out loud.”

actors Evotational faithful final act fulfillment isaiah jesus last act legalism live out loud lives in context new insights rest of the story scripture shakespearean play shakespearean work staging student ministry tag line trying to live Filed under Evotational |