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 How
would you describe your ministry?
I stumbled upon an ancient Chinese proverb that kind of sums it
up: “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember;
involve me and I’ll understand.” My primary job is to
involve others in telling stories and, by telling stories through
different media, involve the people of Grace. The body is all about
involvement—the understanding we are part of something together
that is far bigger than ourselves. I work with Comm Team to provide
direction for our writing, photography, graphic arts, internet,
and video teams.
What inspired you to take on this responsibility?
Making a living as a freelance writer, you figure you can never
have enough part-time jobs.
How long have you been at it?
I’ve been involved as a volunteer for two years and came on
staff part-time five months ago.
What is there about it that gets your motor
running?
I love (almost) everything about creative collaboration: the spark,
adrenaline and movement of ideas; the iron-on-iron sharpening of
gifts; the accountability of growing up one another as artists and
Christians; the shared expression of art as worship; the collective
search for beauty; and endless possibilities of participating in
God’s finished work of ongoing redemption. A lot of people
believe ‘artistic community’ is an oxymoron like jumbo
shrimp’ or ‘military intelligence’ but my experience
has been that it is possible, difficult, and, once formed, nearly
unbreakable.
What person in your life has been the best example of love?
OK, Freud would probably have a ball with this one, but there are
two: my wife, Melanie, and my mom. Both demonstrate consistent,
patient, sacrificial, life-giving love.
What do you do to unwind?
Bike rides and hiking with my family; making up funny stories with
my 8-year-old daughter; Risk games on the computer; reading and
listening to music, watching sports (although some of my teams cause
me stress).
What are you reading?
“Housekeeping” by Marilynne Robinson; “The Circus
in Winter” by Cathy Day; “Dogmatics in Outline”
by Karl Barth; “Leading Change” by John P. Kotter; “The
Message.”
What’s in your ipod?
“There will be Light” by Ben Harper and the Five Blind
Boys of Alabama; "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” by
U2, “Giant Steps” by John Coltraine; “Welcome
to Jamrock” by Damian (Junior Gong) Marley; “The Royal
Scam” by Steely Dan.
What’s the most exciting (or risky) thing you’ve ever
done?
I was hijacked on a return plane trip from Haiti. Although it turned
out the hijackers were more scared kids than killers – one
of them put down his semi-automatic gun to brush his teeth –
it did make me think twice about the length of eternity.
How did you find your way to Grace Church?
Living in a spiritual wasteland (i.e. rural Ohio), we often visited
friends who lived near Asheville -- an area we had always dreamed
about moving to. One Sunday, we almost literally stumbled onto (and
into) Grace. The piano player phrased his chords like Bruce Hornsby.
The drama made my children laugh. The sermon was centered in grace.
Within a year, we made a decision to move.
From Bulletin - 10/9/2005 |
