Awake O’ Sleeper

“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” - Ephesians 5:14 

Technorati Tags: Awake O Sleeper, Whitestone Motion Pictures, Plato’s Cave

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The Watchmaker’s Son is an excellent short film from Whitestone Motion Pictures.  It won the Crystal Heart Award for Dramatic Short Film at the Heartland Film Festival which wraps up this week.  This is a wonderful example of the art of storytelling at it’s best.  Take a look:

 
From the Whitestone Motion Pictures Website…

Although we may be filmmakers by trade, we are storytellers by nature.
Venture into our world and let us weave a tale for you. We will tell
you about life and love and fear and pain. We will show you laughter
and tears, the devil and God. The story is the lifeblood of our world
and nothing matters more.
…So lean close, and let us tell you a story.

I really enjoyed this film and the questions it raised in my own mind about the lengths we go to to gain approval and acceptance from others…even the lengths we go to trying to gain our Heavenly Father’s acceptance…while we miss out on the importance of building relationship.

I’ve been looking for pastoral ministry positions, which is proving to be rather difficult within my denomination (Southern Baptist) as there is no singularly utilized resource for posting openings.  Unlike some other denominations, Southern Baptist church openings aren’t filled through appointments or recommendations from denominational offices.  Most are either advertised in local or state newsletters/newspapers or are passed along by word of mouth.  As our state convention’s newspaper has liberal tendencies, it primarily draws pastoral search postings from liberal leaning churches.  As a result, I’ve had some difficulty locating theologically conservative churches.  On more than one occasion, I have sent my resume to churches that haven’t made their positions or affiliations clear, only to discover during an interview that we were on different pages theologically. 

This evening, I learned of a church that is seeking a minister of education.  I searched around the internet and found some information about the church and pastor that appealed to me and looked promising.  I decided to reply to the posting which requested a resume.  I’ve never been a big fan of resumes.  Having been involved in law enforcement for several years, I’ve learned that the bare facts can’t always tell you what’s most important about someone.  When I’m working a case, I want to know someone’s story.  Where have they been?  How did they get there?  Where are they going?  Their story tells much more about them than two pages of bullet formatted facts and dates.  I felt led to write my story.  It took me several hours to write it.  At first, it felt strange, but after I was finished, it felt rewarding. 

I realized that there are at least 3 major practical benefits to writing out your personal story

1. Writing out your spiritual journey reminds you of the spiritual highs in your life - the times when you have walked closest with God and his guidance has been clearest
2. Writing out your spiritual journey gives you perspective on your current spiritual condition
3. Writing out your spiritual journey helps clarify where God has gifted you and where He is leading

I sent my freshly written story along with my resume.  It gave me an opportunity to express who I am and how God has worked in my life.  It also gave me the opportunity to write out a short philosophy of ministry and some basic theological beliefs.  I suggest you try it sometime, it’s a rewarding exercise, even if no one else ever sees it.