Save the Cat

One of the more recent books I read was Save the Cat which is a book on how to write a screenplay, you know, scripts that they turn into movies. I've always had this great idea for a movie and have longed for a way to get it on paper and turn it into a Hollywood blockbuster. Right. But I seriously read the book with a couple of thoughts. The first one is how can I better the times I do preach, the times I do teach, the times I do give presentations? While this book is for screen writers, there's lot of nuggets for those who have to speak in public venues. Does my message contain enough of a story? Or I am simply lecturing on some principles and then illustrating it every now and again with a story? Does my message contain conflict, change in the central characters, some sort of resolution, and other dimensions that make for screen plays and not conincenentally, great movies? The last time I preached I tried some of these elements- included more use of story and the text already set itself up well for the conflict piece. While my transitions were rougher than normal, I thought the additional use of stories seemed to connect more with the church.

The second thought is the similarities between real life and the elements that make for great movies. I think the best stories are the ones we're living right now- in our workplaces, our communities, our schools, our friends, and our families. Sometimes we discount our stories- we're too normal, too average, too this or too that. And yet if we are following the Savior who changed the world, our stories are nothing but normal or average. For those who lead in churches the challenge is to help people understand the life of faith as something far greater, far riskier and far more impactful than what happens on Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, or even on the big screen.