Thank you for the inspiring discussion!
And a big hearty thank you to Joy for getting it all started.
So far, from the discussion, we seem to concur
that drama can be used successfully within the church, but we're not too sure about whether or not it should occur during the Sunday worship service (enter a whole debate on preference, precedence, efficacy, etc. ). Personally, I prefer to keep the drama out of the Sunday service, but I'm not so sure that's a hard and fast rule.
The next issue upon which we all agree is that WE NEED MORE CHRISTIAN PLAYWRIGHTS TO GET BUSY. And, since I am tired of complaining about the dirth of good material while simultaneously sitting upon my bum and doing absolutely nothing about it.... I want to get your feedback on something....
I plan to talk to Dr. Burke (of the BJU speech faculty) about instituting a script competition.
At first I thought about suggesting that such a competition could be a part of the whole commencement competition thing (like with essay writing). But I'd like it to be open to Undergrads, Grads, and yes, even faculty (which presents the problem of who on earth will judge the competition).
My first goal for this endeavour is to inspire people to write. Most of us who have commented in these past few days are perfectly capable of writing a script. Granted, we are unpracticed and pretty scared, but we do have the capability. What we lack is motivation. (And maybe time? But how many moments do we fritter away with unprofitable things?) If we establish a competition...perhaps more of us, and more of them will come out of hiding.
Second, we need to work on building a body of solid scripts, both for church audiences and secular audiences. So far, Dr. Burke and Dave Schwingle are doing a tremendous job, but unfortunately, their work is reserved for the ministry teams and an occassional vespers. We need people who are not tied to the institution (and maybe some who are) to begin PUBLISHING plays for general use. We have many wonderful scripts on campus, but too many times I have had to cover for the university to Christian school teachers who demand to know why on earth BJ isn't publishing more scripts. We can and should. Perhaps the winners of the competition could be published through the press?
I am open to any and all suggestions/thoughts/criticisms on this subject.
Are there any other ideas?? How can we get this proverbial ball rolling (how I despise such hackneyed expressions)? What can you do? What can I do? So maybe you're not a theatre buff....what can you do to glorify your God RIGHT NOW in the field He has placed you? For myself, I know I've sat around too long pondering the shortcommings of the status quo. Let's do something. Now.
Carpe Diem
Coram Deo
okay...the writers are under conviction now. �
what was the aspen book? ([email protected])
~ a fellow tree-reader
Posted by: joy at May 5, 2003 12:00 PMthe aspen book was M.M. Kaye's The Ordinary Princess. it's not as well-written as i would like (by the author's own admission, she did very little editing), but bravo to her for writing against the grain. my children shall definitely read this book and hopefully read it in a tree :)
this writer's under conviction now, too.
and she's going to start by revamping her ancient credo.
she's learned a lot these past 2 years, and she desperately needs to scribble it all out on a piece of paper...or a computer screen.
perhaps that's why she's been floundering a bit lately in her writing. she has no solid statement of life.
What would be needed to start a writing contest? Should we set down parameters? Possibly define some categories for the scripts (skit, evangelistic, "real life")?
Let's turn the idea into a fully rendered concept. I think it's an excellent idea, and one well worth selling the BJU Speech faculty on next semester. We might even be able to have the contest twice a year (Fall and Spring).
I really believe that there are plenty of people out there with ideas and dreams, but who merely lack the confidence to believe their ideas are actually possible (sound like someone you know). I think that if we could provide the encouragement and the motivation and opportunity, then we may find that there are more people interested in building this ministry than we previously thought.
I'm all for it tennie.
Thank you for letting me help. 8o)
Posted by: Benjamin at May 6, 2003 08:19 AMWhat do you think of this statement from a company which is soliciting Christian drama scripts?
"It is our intent that the scripts we publish should never usurp the
proper supremacy of the preaching of the Word in public worship
services. Drama may be used to supplement but should never be used to
replace, diminish, or compete with preaching, which is the God-ordained
means of proclaiming His Word."
Excellent!!
I have but one question,
Who/What is the company??
I was searching the web for something else when I noticed your discussion about Christian dramas. I am so happy to tell you that I am working for the BJU Press right now to address this very need. Two years ago I requested that the press consider publishing scripts for Christian schools and churches to use. They agreed to publish four a year on a trial basis. We have eight original scripts in our current catalog and I am working on four more for the 2005 catalog. I would be happy to make plot descriptions and cast requirements available to you. Please let me know if I can answer any questions.
Sincerely,
Doug Schaedel
Please note: Comments will not appear immediately. Your comment will appear upon approval by the blog's editor. We had to implement this to decrease the amount of spam that our site receives. Please forgive the inconvenience. We are looking into other, friendlier options.