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Glen Scrivener ن Profile picture
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13 Nov, 9 tweets, 2 min read
Reading 'Creativity Inc' by Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull and I think I've identified one factor in clergy fatigue this year. On top of the usual 2020 stresses and on top of the steep learning curve expected as they (we) navigate lockdown ministry and online church, there's this...
Pastors have felt a shift from 'feeding the sheep' to 'feeding the beast.' They've gone from a tangible sense, pre-lockdown, of helping their flock and now shifted to an understandable (though unhelpful) sense that they're 'producing content'. >
All content producers feel dread about 'feeding the beast.' Just today I remembered a blog post from 2008 entitled "Feeding the Monster." Doing anything regularly sets up expectations — expectations that can feel overwhelming, especially when you can't see the tangible benefits.>
Check out the myriad YouTubers crying on camera because they feel overwhelmed by the need to upload 3 times a week (or else be ignored by the almighty algorithm). 'Feeding the beast' happens most when the distance between you and your audience is greatest. >
The best creativity (and the best ministry) happens from the overflow of a heart inspired and happy to help. It goes toxic when you feel drained by a process sucking you dry.
>
Pastors have gone from feeding sheep on a Sunday, when you can see 'the end user', to creating content for a production deadline (cos you need the sermon in the can by Thursday latest). >
What's the answer? Partly it's remembering: I'm not teaching the Bible, I'm teaching *my people* the Bible. I'm not speaking to camera. I'm speaking to *my people* (via camera). I'm not hitting deadlines, I'm serving the saints. It's not the beast I'm feeding, it's the flock.
SIDE NOTE: Here's that old blog post. Check out the first comment by @TimVasbyBurnie — perfectly showing the way out of the mess... christthetruth.net/2009/08/17/fee…
SIDE SIDE NOTE: It turns out it's my blogging birthday. I started Christ The Truth 13 years ago today. Remember blogging?? I do! Happier times...

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More from @glenscrivener

Glen Scrivener ن Profile picture
19 Sep
Someone's just asked me about projection. Do I believe in God cos I want to? An answer:

The problem of projection is everyone's. Actors think all the world is a stage. Footballers think life is a game of two halves. Atheists can certainly project their desires onto reality too.>
Get this from Thomas Nagel:

"I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. >
"It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.” TN

We all want reality to be a certain way and this leads to all kinds of cognitive biases. It's worth everyone being aware of these—believers and unbelievers alike.
>
Read 5 tweets
Glen Scrivener ن Profile picture
22 Jul
Faith is not a thing. It's not a thing you boldly push out of yourself. And it's not a thing God arbitrarily zaps into you. Both ideas exalt an abstract concept and diminish the actual Saviour, Christ.
>
To say we're 'saved by faith' is true. But it's exactly like saying we're 'saved by grace'. Sure we're saved by grace, but Grace isn't our Saviour — no matter how many hymns we sing in her honour. We must define terms.
>
Grace means 'the undeserved gift of Christ', faith means 'the unworthy person /receiving/ Christ'. But the Saviour here is not a formidable woman called Grace or a pretty young thing called Faith. Grace and Faith are not things. Properly speaking the Saviour is *Christ*!
>
Read 8 tweets
Glen Scrivener ن Profile picture
21 May
#Ascension means you do not climb up to heaven. You are carried.
#Ascension means you are hidden with Christ in God.
#Ascension means you do not yell up to God. You’re whispering in his ear.
Read 13 tweets
Glen Scrivener ن Profile picture
11 May
Conspiracy theories have a compelling purchase on our imagination because they tap into what's undeniable: there *are* unseen powers in the world; we're not as free as we think; and those who seem in charge don't have nearly as much influence as they pretend. That's 100% true. >
In NT times there were proto-Gnostic movements tapping into that same sense. They taught that real wisdom is 'hidden' from the 'carnal' and that the 'spiritual' needed to be inducted into the 'mysteries' which truly explain the world and liberate their devotees. >
Interestingly, this kind of teaching was identified by the NT authors as a particular temptation to Christians (hence many letters addressing it, eg Ephesians; Colossians; 2 Peter; 1 John). That's something to note: Christians can be suckers for conspiracies. >
Read 12 tweets
Glen Scrivener ن Profile picture
27 Jan
Ok, challenge accepted:

The Christian sex ethic is nowhere near the heart of the faith. In fact ethics are not the heart of the faith either. But here goes — the Christian vision for sex is the most romantic vision for sex the world has ever seen. It's built on 5 foundations...
—God is love
—History is a love story
—Sex is proclamation
—Gender is a gift
—Our bodies are temples

The alternative is:
—Ultimate reality is power
—History's a meaningless power play
—Sex is recreation (or mere procreation)
—Gender's self-created
—Our bodies are playgrounds
...
Every step away from the Christian vision is a step away from love. See this short video we made (and the one following in the playlist)

...
Read 7 tweets
Glen Scrivener ن Profile picture
12 Jan
[A 5 year old’s birthday party. I’m talking to a mum]
She: When do kids start being self-conscious and stop singing at the top of their lungs?
Me: I do school assemblies. I reckon 12.
She: Such a shame cos singing is so good for us. But I think we’ve stopped as a society too.
>
Me: Why do you reckon?
She: We’ve got nothing to sing about. We used to sing hymns.
Me: I agree. It’s part of what people are calling a meaning crisis.
She: My daughter came back from a Christian club where they learnt a song “Thank you Lord for chocolate cake”.
>
Me: I know the one.
[We sing the chorus: “Hallelujah, Praise the Lord...”]
She: My daughter sang it all round the house. Course she thought it was about chocolate cake, she didn’t know it was about God.
>
Read 4 tweets

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