This past Sunday my wife and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary (which was in June) by going out to eat and going to the Broadway play "Wicked" that was playing at the Orpheum in downtown Minneapolis. One of the things we did while we were on our date was discuss baby names for the new addition to our family. It has been our tradition to do have this discussion while we are alone at a restaraunt. We got our list narrowed down to three names. Much to the chagrin of our family, we don't share the name with anyone until we announce the birth even though this video seems to say otherwise.
Ever since experiencing the play "Wicked" for the first time (which we saw from the fifth row!), I have been thinking about how amazing the story was performed, told and put together. I was engaged throughout the story. I was at lunch today discussing this with our Senior Pastor (Troy), Worship Pastor (Brian) and Junior High Pastor (Travis). As I was describing our experience, Troy shared, "that just shows you the power of the story". He nailed it. That is what made the play so dynamic. I had never seen any part of "Wicked" before that night, I didn't know any of the songs (read below). I did however know the "other" story that it was complimenting. I think that is what helps this production. Almost everyone has seen the movie "The Wizard of Oz" more times than they really want to admit. I probably haven't seen it in over ten years but I was familiar with it enough to really understand what was going on in "Wicked". I definitely recommend going to see this if you get the chance.
In light of my job as a youth pastor, communicating God's Truth and grace to the next generation, this experience left me wondering how God's Word might be communicated in an engaging way (without adding or taking anything away from it)? I don't have any answers to this question except to never abandon the power of story.
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Another side note that is worth adding: In trying to prepare myself for this show I purchased the "Wicked" soundtrack. I remember thinking I paid so much for these tickets I really want to get the most out of this experience. As I tried to listen to the soundtrack beforehand none of it made sense and I remember thinking that I was not going to enjoy this play as much as I had hoped. Now that we have seen the performance and I understand how the songs work into the story, it is far more enjoyable to listen to!
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