I got a BA English (Creative Writing minor) and went on (after reading C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce) to complete an MA Theology for just that reason--I did not want to overstep any bounds. I wanted a better basis for discernment in my writing.

The Christian's utility of the arts has been debated for centuries, so don't fret if you don't get it all ironed out before Antigone comes to the stage. Like a lot of "hot" issues in fundamentalist circles today, the question of using drama in various contexts (particularly as part of a worship service) is often difficult to treat objectively, since so much depends on...wow, I really want to write something about a white chicken and red wheelbarrow here...since so much depends on personal preference and personal background/experience.

I personally have a bad taste in my mouth since much of the in-church acting I have seen has been either ill-motivated/man-centered or ill-performed/pathetic-quality. But I will argue "for" drama here, since I do believe firmly that for the Christian, there is a God-glorifying way to do everything, including things as simple as eating and drinking. God has given many gifts and talents, and dramatic aptitude is one of those.

Like music and visual art, drama is not at all amoral. Any dramatic piece (and its performance) must be judged according to absolute and universal aesthetic standards within the parameters of its respective genre. Superceding those absolute aesthetic standards, for the Christian anyway, comes the responsibility to align dramatic piece selections (and performances) under any principles derived from or directly expressed in Scripture. In other words, a Christian dramatist is held accountable to choose and perform dramatic pieces according to criteria defined by Scripture and by universally-recognized aesthetic principles.

Is appropriateness a consideration? Absolutely--since we are bound by Scripture that elevates God as holy and high above us in His thoughts and ways. He is unique and demands to be worshipped in the way He wants to be worshipped--NOT the way pagans' gods are worshipped. Obviously, some pieces would be inappropriate for a worship service. The same piece might be appropriate for a more casual chapel service or even a rally skit. However, the ways we determine appropriateness should not be confined to our personal experience and preferences.

Remember that the woman who anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair was not acting "appropriately" according to the social morays of her time. Her extravagance was an offense to the traditionalists. For a strange woman to interrupt a tableful of men at their supper, let down her hair and basically "lose it" emotionally was competely out of keeping with the local perception of how worship "was done." Yet Christ accepted her worship as a genuine effort to contrive what she had into a worship tool, a venue of glorifying Him with her everything.

Remember the widow whose two mites drew so much attention at the temple's offering plate. What an inadequate offering! What a disgrace and dishonor it must be to its Recipient. How could God be expected to accept such a meager worship effort? Yet Jesus rebuked the "almighty Them" and their mentality--indicating that their own hefty offering bags, though more publicly visible, were to him despicable. He commended the widow for giving her all, giving what she could, when the others had given much but only a portion of their potential.

I think that you especially, as a drama person, will by God's grace come to your own conclusions on how to glorify Him with your propensities and affinities. He has made you up this way and will not settle for less than your two mites.

Off the top of my head, having never studied drama's place as in-depth as I have the places of music and literature and art, I can think of a couple of principles that I will jot out and try to provoke some feedback on them.

1. There is a God-glorifying way for the Christian to do anything God-glorifying. (This may sound like an oxymoron, but it really is.)
a. if you do drama, do it to glorify God--not to please men, not to meet any quotas or expectations, not primarily to fulfill your own desires for expression and recognition, not even primarily to win souls--but to glorify God.
b. if you don't do drama, that decision should also stem from the right motivations. people know you are Jesus' disciple if you love other disciples. if drama performance in certain contexts is a serious hang-up for some believers, you should avoid unnecessary conflict and anything that would distract from God. for meat, don't destroy a Christian sibling. don't deliberately create a rift between you and another believer, even if (as far as you're concerned) he's behaving like a dimwit.

2. It seems to me in Scripture that God emphasizes two main things when it comes to using what we have in worshipping Him:
a. doctrinal accuracy: what the drama (or music or lit or art) says about Jesus Christ's person and work is highly relevant to its legitimacy as a vehicle for the conveyance of truth. never should the truth be skewed for the sake of gaining entrance onto a certain platform, for the sake of catering to certain audience, for sake of achieving a more original plot or a nifty little motif in the script. CHRIST MUST BE LIFTED UP. take the poetry analogy--the form should support its content. make drama a mirror--a wall for the shadows of heaven to play on. it's obvious that we can only produce shadows. but those shadows should be the right shape, reminiscent at least of the actual Reality. doctrinal truth is of paramount importance.
b. authentic heart worship: God is not so much about dotting i's, crossing t's, the blood of bulls and rams as he is about genuine, unhypocritical, untainted-by-ulterior-motives worship from the heart. perhaps an actor more than anyone else has cause to remember that a mask will never cut it with God who knows all that goes on beneath the facade. constantly be questioning your motives. constantly be realigning your focus, making a concerted effort to concentrate on your God and how worthy he is of your best offerings (whether it's two mites or hefty wads of cash). if you catch yourself in a moment of hypocrisy, take the time to remove your mask and make sure the real you is doing real worship.

3. Your technical credibility always reflects the credibility of your message.
a. the truth should not be eclipsed by the vehicle. as said above, the form should support its content. if your content has to do with Jesus, it is a weighty message and huge responsibility. as i began this post i mentioned my desire to gain a better basis for understanding/discernment in my writing. i had read far too many shallow Christian romances and Christian missionary biographies and was thoroughly disallusioned. one thing i admire about C.S. Lewis was his profound ability to create a righteous metaphor. by righteous i mean that he could make the abstract concrete without degrading it. it is a rare person who can describe the heavenly in terms of earthly without making the heavenly thing more base in the process. but I'm no Lewis. and I'm not Jesus, who was the prime example of the use of fiction/parables. Jesus knew where to draw his lines when telling stories that illustrated his points. conveying truth through drama is a sobering aim. handling it flippantly is not something you want to do.
b. technique is important. always will be, especially in the medium of drama since you must gain and keep your audience's attention and lead them to a desired conclusion. excellence in performance should be a goal, not only for personal and group credibility, but also primarily for conveying the message with clarity in an understandable and memorable (for the right reasons, memorable) format. heartily, as to the Lord, your best effort should collate all you have--including your presentation, your poise, your memory, your everything.

Well...have I provoked anyone to follow up further? I'm no actress, just a huge-o Erin Naler fan. Maybe she'll put a post up here.

Till we talk again... -joy

I think we have to distinguish between times, places, and purposes. I have a fairly strong opinion that drama does not have a legitimate place in Sabbath worship. However, I'm also not a fan of specials featuring a soloist, so that should give an indication of my position here. I believe our best model for worship here is that indicated by Scripture. It seems that Sabbath worship consisted of singing, testimony, sacraments, and preaching of the Word. I could get a lot more specific here, but I won't since that won't answer the question posed.

I do think that drama is a force in our culture, and we have a God-given mandate to bend it to His purposes. So I have no problem with Christians using drama to bring glory to God.

I just don't like it in Sabbath worship services.

i really appreciate joy's comments. as a theatre grad, i face this question often. and i don't reach too many conclusions...
i think i have always avoided drama in the worship service because i have yet to find a script that seems appropriate. too often it is emotional and weak. it plays the emotions the way many contemparay christian songs do. one church i know of has "illustrated sermons" once a month or so. they usually have great technical aspects and very good "performers." but that is their weakness--it is a performance. sure, it gets more people in the congregation, and they have a message to give, but the performance gets in the way. people leave with the "wasn't that nice" response. the same for their liturgical dance. they have beatiful ballet dancers who give very emotional performances, but does the congregation worship with them?
personally, i think the church should be active in drama. i think, when done to the glory of God, He will recieve glory. but, and this is a preference statement, i think i should happen apart from the worship service. bring the people in for God-honoring performances, but keep the worship service for what it is intended. a good example of this is the vespers script by dave schwingle that was presented at bob jones early this year. that was a well-written, well-acted script that was used of God to teach many. but, it happened separate from the worship service. not that worship did not happen during it, but the usual time and atmosphere for worship was not interupted.
i think because so much of this is an issue of principle and not precept, opinion and preference will always get in the way of our conclusions. i know it does for me!

Becoming key here seems to be the "performance" aspect. When you zero in on why dramatic performances in an actual worship service are such a hang-up for some (admittedly including myself), I think it is this point of how it seems like a performance.

I also have a strong aversion to some special music in church. I hate when we operate with the assumption that we NEED an aid to worship, whether that aid is visual or musical or emotional or all those things. Just because every church "does special music" does not mean that special music should be done for the sake of itself. I'm not against soloists across the board, but certain soloists nauseate me because their stage presence or facial expressions or general lifestyle off-the-stage strike me as having all the trappings of a performance rather than authentic worship.

Just because such and such church uses dance or drama or organ music or a tried and true hymnal or overhead projections or icons or a choir or poetry or drums or marimbas or guitars or violins does NOT legitimize these things as valid worship elements, nor does the church's eventual acceptance of these things as traditional elements necessitate them as vital to true worship. Notice that those things are spirit and truth inherently; they are only objects to be handled (or rejected) in spirit and truth.

A performer mentality smacks of the world. (I John 2 and James 3 can explain "worldliness" far better than I could. On the other hand, Galatians 5, I Corinthians 13, and James 3 describe the converse of worldliness.) We also need to be careful in our attempts to be seeker-sensitive that we not go overboard and become seeker-driven. We do not want elements of our worship to smack of the world--meaning that we don't want to worship God in the way that unbelievers worship idols. This was the problem with the golden calf in the wilderness. They wanted to worship Jehovah but, like the other nations, they wanted an admirable object that they could see. God's demand is spiritual and true worship. Worship is about God (ultimately). Not about man (ultimately). To the extent that it becomes about man (ultimately) is the extent to which it dishonors God (ultimately). Meaning that if we are overly concerned that we present our two mites in an adequate/appropriate manner so as to please God as though we could pay him back to a greater degree by conjuring up a greater offering, it's still manward in focus and therefore not God-centered. If we are striving for "sufficient" or "enough" as the end goal, our worship is doomed to fall short of God's expectations. God's definitions of those standards are far too high. Rather, he demands "all," and he demands it in spirit and in truth.

Perhaps if it could be argued that music is something ordained for worship, it is possibly arguable that drama is not. However, churches in fundamentalist circles do often try to get people into churches by using musical or dramatic "performances" to sweeten the pot. As one of my friends mentioned to me, in the performance lies the problem.

Preaching itself has also been alluded to as a performance. It is often viewed as the main show, the climax to which the other elements of service etc is supposed to build up. (I don't personally hold this view, since I believe that the other elements included in a worship service should do more than "prepare our hearts"--they should also in and of themselves be authentically-motivated acts of worship.)

As my friend also pointed out to me:
Bottom line is we need to reclaim authentic supremacy of the Word of God, which alone will change people. It is that which is promised to never return void.

As to whether drama can be used as a vehicle to carry the Word of God, I have no doubt (although the weight of that responsibility is as mammoth as two mites/giving your ALL can be). As to whether it's appropriate as part of a church service...hmmm. What about other contexts then?

"Notice that those things are [NOT] spirit and truth inherently; they are only objects to be handled (or rejected) in spirit and truth."
(sorry about that.)

many very good comments have been made already in regards to this subject and so i'll try not to repeat too much. ( i have to number my thoughts or i'll get side-tracked)
1. Is church drama truly profitable? ideally yes. but the rare chance that a director would be able to find qualified actors that are truly acting to God's glory and not for their own glory and keep that focus as well as make it clear that their efforts in front of the audience were to bring praise to Christ, and at the same time be done well, would make it probably wiser to keep this out of the worship service.

1b. Or could this time be better spent preaching? certainly for several reasons. it is too easy to make any decision based upon how we feel. i was once told never to make any important decision when i was tired, hungry, or angry. not because i'm incapable of making decisions but because my guard is down then. my reasoning capabilities are lower and my sensitivity/emotions are higher. TV and movies use this a ton to get the public to accept their horrid philosophies. our guard is down, "it's just a movie." in general, people aren't thinking "what's the major dramatic question here? and the ends can't justify the means!" the average movie-goer just laughs along with the jokes and nods with the undercurrent of poor philosophy. but -this could go the other way in church drama as it does with so many cantatas. the people watch nodding along with the good philosophy and feeling sad or feeling that there's HOPE and at the end the plan of salvation is given and it just feels like the right thing to do. but there's no call from the holy Spirit. just a call from their emotions. it's so incredibly easy in drama.
though it happens in preaching of the Word as well, a man of God seeking to bring glory to our Lord will let God's words draw men and not his own.

(okay, this might end up a bit long. i'm sorry if you tire of reading my reply half-way through-not that i'll blame you)

2. Is it possible for any Christian drama to accurately and, yes, appropriately address secular life and questions?
yes. all of the arts, painting, music, drama, and literature can be incredibly useful. that is why we have them. i think in literature c.s. lewis (sorry i hate using capital letters and generally only use them in reference to our Lord, Jesus Christ and state abbreviations.) demonstrates this amazingly well. joy mentioned "the great divorce" and what a great book that was! the book both addresses secular life and opinions and their consequences. "the chronicles of narnia" do the same but on a purer level-more fit for children. "pilgrim's progress" who's that by?....john bunyon, bunyen....? touching on all those area by which man is tempted in this world.
art has done the same thing and drama really is no different.
2b. Would such drama be "too much" for a church service?
i think i've already answered that one in that massive 1b. paragraph
2.c If it is "too much" for church, is it right to perform such drama elsewhere?
i wouldn't want an art exhibit or a book reading (of anything other than God's word) during a sacred service. but i would love those things outside of going to worship in God's house. and that does not mean that God is not glorified. we are in the world but not of the world. we should not live in a bubble of knowing and speaking only with those of like faith. we must be out in the world making a difference. and drama would be a great means of being a light in a dark world. the acting world is an exceptionally dark world.
3. Is it right to maintain a Christian theatre as an entity separate from the church?
yes. why not? act with other people from other good churches. this might not always be an option but when possible we should be mingling with other believers. this also helps eliminate any of that silly church rivalry that can be so petty.
i totally agree with the principles that joy mentioned and they should be kept in mind. and wendy's remarks on soloists, others commented on "special music" as well, it's something we as believers need to be incredibly careful about. too often i know that i am not thinking 100% on glorifying the Lord during congressional singing. how easy it can be to slip into just going through the motions or becoming self promoting in the talents the Lord has seen fit to bestow on an individual in any field, including drama.

Maybe Cynthia opened a can of worms when she mentioned emotional persuasion tactics and the end not justifying the means. If she didn't open it, maybe this will.

Perhaps the reason drama in church is questioned is because it is only a subset of a greater question we still vacillate on, thanks to Charles Finney and some others. Whether or not we can create the proper circumstances for conviction, true repentance and revival.

Friends of mine once went to a Benny Hinn service and commented on how the entire program was geared toward wearing the people down so they would believe/do/feel anything Benny wanted them feeling by the end of the service. They sang and swayed and clapped, standing, for about an hour before the actual speaking began. No wonder emotions (and gullibility) were high at the end, in spite of the obviously-staged healings and the obviously-unhealed droves of people filing out afterwards.

Do we ever do a holified fundamentalist version of this? (Ouch.) Whatever we do in or leading up to the presentation of the Word of God in a service--whether it's gathering teens in a rally and playing spoke tackle and capture the flag with them for a few hours first, whether it's a cantata where a prodigal son comes home and even all the saved people want to get saved again at the end of it, whether it's a well-written and potently-acted and highly-persuasive play--we need to filter all of our methods and philosophy through God's Word.

Two things:
1. Maybe folks need to be taught HOW to watch a drama in a worshipful way—that actors, lighting, etc are really secondary. They need to know how their hearts can be worshiping while watching a drama. . . . Really, how? What should we be thinking about while watching a Christian drama? (On a technical note, this is where blending elements together well comes in, so as not to distract the audience.) I think the TV/movie influence is why we don’t think of actively worshipping while watching a drama. This is probably most of what our hang-up involves. We expect dramas to be performed perfectly, like things on the screen are performed perfectly (after 700 takes). So we watch critically and not worshipfully.
2. I’d like to clarify joy’s comment early on, under 1. b. This principle of not causing a weaker brother to sin b/c of your liberty probably doesn’t apply to this situation—where someone just doesn’t like the idea of church drama and gets mad about it. It’s more like, a person truly believes that doing such drama is sin, but because of your influence he/she participates in it, and in so doing, violates his/her own conscience. That’s more the principle. And you can give information to train a conscience, which may or may not be received.

AW and I are on the same page re: offending brothers. The biblical word is referring to causing your brother to sin, not to making him mad. Both, I believe, ought to be avoided since we should keep peace when possible, but primarily the former is defensible from Romans 14. I see drama as being a "serious hang-up" perhaps for believers who have perhaps exited a theater lifestyle that was wicked and for whom any form of dramatic art done in a church scenario would be reminiscent to them of their former ways and cause them to embrace something they might now feel is sinful. That would be sin, if your doing drama in a worship scenario would cause that person to fall back into his old lifestyle because he now thinks it's ok after all. (The possibility of this scenario does seem remote, now that I've described it so.)

" Maybe folks need to be taught HOW to watch a drama in a worshipful way"
it's a nice idea but the thinking is backwards. if i am a fireman (well, fire-woman technically) and i am speaking in spanish to tenants in a burning building, most of whom only speak english, saying "va la llanura izquierda el vestíbulo que otro bombero le satisfará allí. calma de la estancia. vamos a conseguirle del edificio. ¡usted debe ahora ir! "
i cannot complain "they aren't doing what i asked, all of these people just need to learn spanish." the task is too great and time is wasted. maybe i just need to save my spanish for an audience who speaks spanish and do my best in english.
it is too great a task, though a terrific dream, to try to change the long ingrained thinking of the masses (i teach speech, i am not against you) but it probably would be more effective if that effort was put into acting outside of the church. not that the work would be unprofitable, not that the acting or mental participation of the audience could not be a form of worship to God but for the multitude of people who do not know how to do that acting would be better served in another setting than a worship service.

1. Yes, church drama can be truly profitable. Done well, it IS preaching. Like a parable, it can present truth in a memorable way that may hold the mind and ultimately develop change (through the Holy Spirit; but frankly, we can't control Him, and I would say we need not worry about what we can't control). Communion is visual preaching, a proclamation of the unity of believers, the sacrifice of Christ, and God's love.

2. If you are not accurately and appropriately addressing everyday life (which is what I'm assuming you mean by "secular life"), your drama is of no use, in church or out of it. Speak to people in their own language; life events are part of "language." As for the appropriateness of drama in church, that depends on your audience. For some, it's a distraction from "worship" (an ill-defined concept in itself). For others, it can provide a greater understanding and add depth to the service. Consider your area. If the church is closed to "innovation" in services (although drama in the church dates back at least to A.D. 1100--probably earlier), don't push it because it's more likely to be a distraction. If the opportunity comes, go for it, but don't force the opportunity. (Much can be overcome by how you refer to the drama as well. Most so-called "cantatas" are simply short musicals, an unwelcome title in most churches. If the word "drama" or "play" would raise suspicion, call it something else--"spoken-word presentation," "dramatic interpretation," whatever. People are often opposed to semantics, not concepts.) If your church doesn't mind new forms of presentation, give it a try. You can't improve unless you begin and having begun, continued.

You ask if it's "right" to perform drama. I have to ask, what is "wrong" about performing drama? Is imagination or acting condemned anywhere in the Scripture? I cannot think of any verses. I can think of the time that David pretended to be crazy in order to escape execution by the Philistine king. I don't recall God condemning him for that. Is drama a love God has given you within your heart? Is it how you think and communicate? Are you thankful to God when you think about it? Can Jesus demonstrate his goodness through you in what you're doing? Then do it! Many things in life are not a matter of "right" and "wrong" even though we would like them to be plainly labeled.

3. If you are a Christian and you want to run a "Christian" theater, go ahead and run it. This is not a moral issue. It has no bearing on salvation. There is no "right" and "wrong" in this situation. I will say that by labeling yourself, you will most likely attract an audience of Christians only. If that's your desire, fine. If not, you may want to do some further thinking about how you define your organizational presentation.

My first reaction was like J. Hanneman’s. Sure, you can do drama, I guess even in a worship service, as long as it’s done in a way that points to the Word that will be preached. (I know, sounds great typed, but doing this in reality is hard. And seeing how most of us are having not-so-great reactions to the idea though we’re not opposed to it, kind of shows the general attitude of people in our circles.

You know, entertainment. People tend to look at drama, even in church, as entertainment.

Yes, Cynthia, I know the despair of being a teacher, struggling to educate the masses :o) Might still be worth a shot in our small corners—teaching us how to watch drama worshipfully. Would be interesting to think through the topic, and then how to communicate it to others. Could even write articles on the subject for Christian magazines. Would be great to have some things starting to be clarified and expressed among fundamentalists about the issue.

Any writers out there want to take up the challenge?

hmm. i seem to know someone who shall remain nameless (INITIALS ARE A.W.) who is a seasoned writer for frontline magazine on issues such as the use of television and video in "our" circles. perhaps such a person, considering his/her experience in related fields, might be willing to take up his/her keyboard again.

is he/she wearing his/her WRITING VEST right now?

I have really enjoyed the thought provoking comments that have been made. The relationship between drama and the church is an issue I have given a lot of thought recently. I like the straightforwardness of Jon Hanneman's initial comments.

Here are my thoughts. Some of this will be echoes.
1. Is church drama truly profitable? Or could this time be better spent preaching?

I have witnessed first-hand the impact of Christian drama. I had the opportunity to travel on two Christian drama teams. One drama dealt with a husband and wife separating. At a service in Georgia a man after seeing the drama went to the pastor and initiated counseling sessions to be reunited with his estranged wife. True, it is the Spirit that does the work, but he uses drama.

A passage used to support preaching in the church to the exclusion of other means of presenting Biblical truth is 1 Corinthians 1:21b which states in the King James Version, “it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” But the emphasis of the Greek, a Greek student told me, is more accurately placed on the message than on the means of proclaiming it. The New American Standard reads, “God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” This passage is talking specifically about bringing people to Christ for salvation, but it brings up the point that preaching is not the only way of presenting Biblical truth. I don’t believe that drama should replace the preaching of the Word, but it is definitely an effective means of delivering the message.

I believe drama can be used in a worship setting, but the actors, I would call them presenters, must have a spirit of worship. The focus of the drama should clearly point to God.

2. Is it possible for any Christian drama to accurately and, yes, appropriately address secular life and questions? Would such drama be "too much" for a church service? If it is "too much" for church, is it right to perform such drama elsewhere?

I have heard this first question raised because of the contrast between Christian and modern drama. Let’s assume that we are comparing a well-written modern drama with a well-written Christian drama. (Which unfortunately there are not many of these to talk about. Get busy playwrights!) One of the differences between the two is that Absurdism, existentialism, other –isms and even spectacle make Christian drama seem like a farce when really it offers the true view of reality. Christian dramas tend to be poorly written. Part of the problem is that there is a lack of conflict and the plot is predictable. “We know that all things work together for good” so some Christian playwrights make that happen in 40 minutes or less. That’s really hard to do artfully. I think the challenge is to write and present good drama offers Christ as the solution.

Can this approach be too didactic? It is not inartistic to instruct through art. It is actually a more memorable experience than simply learning a naked truth. Shakespeare teaches very clearly in Taming of the Shrew, wifes submit to your husbands. He even uses comedy. I am not suggesting Shakespeare was a Christian dramatist, but he gives a good example of instructive drama.

There are definitely some Christian dramas that work well. Jamie Turner does a good job of presenting Christianity in literary form in her novel Some Wildflower in My Heart.

To the second question, one does have to work within the time and space provided by a church auditorium and service. But from my experience I think these limitations can be overcome. About doing Christian drama outside of church as well. Yes! Take it to the park. Rent out a small theatre. Use some “found space.” Support good art even if it is not Christian. It reflects God’s attributes just as classical music does when played well. Christians tend to abandon a medium as evil if the world starts to bend it to its own purpose. Take film for an example.

3. Is it right to maintain a Christian theatre as an entity separate from the church?
Sure.

I’ll quit now. I would love your feedback on these thoughts. Thanks for your input, all.

many thanks to all of you for the feedback.

i have another question for each of you, but decided to post it in another blog--our comments here seem to have grown wonderfully long, and I don't want to cut off this discussion by introducing another one on this same post.

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