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But What If My Work Sucks?

February 1, 2012 in creativity, culture, filmmaking, meaning, passion, storytelling, writing with 2 Comments

My creative partner Brad Wise shared this quote from Ira Glass. It’s good.

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

Do We Really Need Artists?

January 26, 2012 in creativity, culture, gospel, Jesus, kingdom of god, meaning, movies, passion, storytelling, writing with 10 Comments

Art is a spiritual transaction. Artists are visionaries. We routinely practice a form of faith, seeing clearly and moving toward a creative goal that shimmers in the distance – often visible to us, but invisible to those around us. Difficult as it is to remember, it is our work that creates the market, not the market that creates our work. Art is an act of faith, and we practice practicing it. Sometimes we are called on pilgrimages on its behalf and, like many pilgrims, we doubt the call even as we answer it. But answer we do.

So begins Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. No other spiritual method/program has weaved into the fabric of my soul quite like The Artist’s Way. At the urging a friend, I am revisiting it again beginning today.

Cameron’s use of “pilgrimage” imagery in the first paragraph has to be part of what initially draws me in. I have self-identified as a pilgrim for years. I have come to view life as best seen through the metaphor of pilgrimage – a purposeful wandering into the unknown – a pursuit of that which we know but cannot explain – a daily, active walking toward the next space we will walk into.

Jesus was a pilgrim.

Both literally as an itinerant rabbi and cosmically as God-man on a journey from heaven to earth to a new heaven and new earth. He wasn’t just a pilgrim though.

He was a profoundly stubborn rebel pilgrim.

It was the rebellious, shocking, scandalous nature of his pilgrimage that tilted the world on its axis.

The church is also a pilgrim.

She is on an eschatological journey from Kingdom Come to Kingdom Fully Come.

Perhaps the greatest role of the Artist is to reflect back the reality of our communal pilgrimage. Many people operate as if they are riding on a lazy people-mover at an airport. They aren’t walking, but they are still moving. We easily assume that the journey of life has a pause button. It doesn’t. Your journey continues whether you know you are moving or not.

So while our legs sleepily atrophy while standing on the moving ground beneath our feet, the Artist screams, “You’re moving! Look around! You will never be here again! This very moment you are letting slide by is a pregnant miracle – ready to undergo the pain of birthing beauty, hope and life.”

Banksy

The filmmaker does this. She holds up a mirror to you disguised as someone else’s story. You look into it and see your own journey. The musician does this. He puts his saxophone to his lips and without a single word reminds you that life is hard, but worth the effort. The novelist does this. As does the painter, the artisan, the editor, the teacher, the dancer, the poet.

If you are an Artist, you are not secondary.

You are necessary.

Humanity cannot be humanity without Artists. We Artists have a calling to explore the fringes of life so that we can translate the not-yet to those who are heading there. We are the scouts. As the throng of pilgrims marches on, we run ahead. We spy on the future and return to speak in parables about what could be if only we would will it to be so.

I believe that a small band of Artists who mature to look past their own self-expression – who see themselves as a community of scouts within a moving pilgrimage – are the catalyst to change the future.

If you self-identify as an Artist, I’d urge you to explore these things with me. Pick up The Artist’s Way if you want and let me know your thoughts.

If you don’t think you are an Artist, then find one to love and support. We are fragile, uncertain, tentative people. There is a dark underbelly to our creativity. We need the others journeying with us to stand with us and for us. We create from our own brokenness. The great irony is that while our art can help other people, it can have the opposite effect on us. So look past our eccentricity, masked confidence and perceived naivety. Tell us we are needed. And help get us ready for our next mission.

Top 3 Articles This Week

January 22, 2012 in blogging, creativity, culture, life change, meaning, social networking with 0 Comments

Courtesy http://sesamestreet.tumblr.com/

I have been blogging every day for about five weeks now. (After years of blogging about twice per week.) I plan on writing soon about some lessons and personal learnings from the experiment. At the very least, I am suddenly developing a lot more content. I’m toying with the idea of posting the top articles of each week as a recap on Sundays.

So, nothing new here today if you are a regular reader. But if you missed a few posts, you might want to read these articles that other people gravitated toward over the last seven days.

3. 10 Proven Ways to Be Happy

-A look at ten scientifically proven ways to feel happier. It is interesting to see how they compare with what the Bible says about the subject. (Lots of similarities.)

2. For the Love of God, Collaborate!

-Yesterday’s post where I linked an amazing youtube video of musical collaboration.

1. My Problem With Facebook.

-This was probably the most read article due to a bit of a bait and switch title. Sorry about that.

For the Love of God, Collaborate!

January 21, 2012 in community, creativity, culture, improvisational christianity, storytelling with 10 Comments

I’m a creative.

And an off-the-chart introvert.

I am constantly tempted to create alone.

This video just shattered any illusions that I can create something better alone than I can in community. 

What are you doing alone that would be better done together?  

How Etta James Changed Me

January 20, 2012 in culture, meaning, storytelling with 4 Comments

I didn’t grow up in a particularly musical household. Music has gradually become more important to me as I grow older.

My music preferences are eclectic, but all my favorite artists have things in common. I like lyrics, probably because I like stories. I don’t like music when I can’t understand the words. (Sorry, Ozzy.) I like tight harmonies, but not twangy country. I love Pandora and Spotify. They have changed music for me. I can experiment and explore artists similar to the ones I already like with no risk.

In 2003 I bought a CD at Border’s Books and Music in Las Vegas. (Back then music came on silver “compact” discs (CDs). They were sold at “book” stores. Bookstores were places where people would buy books and magazines made out of paper. “Borders” was a national bookstore change. Just imagine iTunes as a real place but everything you buy there is made of physical materials. Weird, I know.)

The CD was Etta James’ Blue Gardenia.

Etta James being awesome.

It instantly became the music I listened to everyday – for maybe a year or longer. It was during one of the hardest seasons of my life. Her music was able to tap into the melancholy of my heart while simultaneously giving me a burst of hope. Etta and I made it through that season together. I finally saw her in concert in 2004 at the Las Vegas Hilton. She couldn’t stand up unassisted and would lean against a chair. She had problems breathing at times. Until she would sing…then she was magical. I remember being thankful for her after that concert…in a different kind of way. As if she had actually helped me.

The world lost Etta today.

She never knew me, but her music carried me through and somehow weaved itself into the fabric of my soul.

Do you have a similar story?

What music defined a season of your life?

Why do you think music touches us so deeply? 

Here is Etta James singing This Bitter Earth from Blue Gardenia.

We have to Agree. [Improvisational Christianity #4]

January 18, 2012 in comedy, culture, gospel, improv, improvisational christianity, religion, storytelling with 3 Comments

Improv is play – simple pretending. Think of what works best when kids are at play.

Here are three examples of how little children tend to play together:

Example 1:

Girl: I’m a Princess!

Boy: No, you’re a Wizard!

Girl: No, I’m a Princess. You’re a Prince.

Boy: You’re ugly and stupid!

Girl leaves weeping.

Example 2:

Girl: I’m a Princess!

Boy: Ok, I’m A Wizard.

Girl: No. You’re a Prince. You have blonde hair and green eyes and you live in a castle and you have white horse and…

Girl won’t shut up. The boy grows bored (and annoyed.) He leaves.

Example 3:

Girl: I’m a Princess!

Boy: Yep, and I’m a Wizard!

Girl: Are you a good Wizard?

Boy: Yes, and I’m here to warn you of something terrible.

Girl: Oh no! Quick, come in my castle. It’s over here.

Boy: Ok, but hurry.

They play like this for hours, telling an impossible story, laughing together and becoming friends.

If you have spent time with kids lately, you’ve probably seen a real-life version of each of the three above scenarios. An underlying premise behind improvisation is, not only that play is important, but that there is a better way to play. A certain style of play is more mutually fun and meaningful. This style of play (Example 3) is centered in the concept of Agreement.

Rule #3 – Agree and Accept.

(Late to the discussion? Learn about Rule #1 and Rule #2.)

When I teach kids (or adults) to improvise, this is the biggest stumbling block. Non-agreement is the easiest way to spot an amateur improviser. Here’s an example of a typical scene with two adult students during a first level improv class:

Guy: W’sap?

Girl: Nothing.

Guy: You come here to get your fake ID?

Girl: No. I don’t need a fake ID.

Guy: Yes you do. You called me and told me.

Girl: I don’t even know you, how could I call you?

Oh the agony of bad play! Put me out of my misery… fast.

The above scene tells me that I am dealing with two insecure actors, afraid to trust one another.

Here’s an example of how two professionals might play the same scene:

Guy: Psst. Jenny. Over here. I got your fake ID. (He waves it above his head.)

Girl: Put it away! The cops will see you. (She looks around and walks to him, whispering.) They’re all over the place.

Guy: Uh, yeah. It’s a police station. You got the payment?

Girl: Yes, $20 of Chick-fil-a gift cards, just like your text said…

You get the point. There are some rules at play we haven’t discussed yet in this short scene, like heightening, raising the stakes, etc. But this scene works because there is agreement. The first scene lacks agreement so it, professionally speaking, sucks.

You have to agree and accept to be a good improviser.

The second you don’t agree, you weaken the story and fail your partner. We call this saying Yes.

Yes is always the right answer in improv. 

Saying Yes means that we are constantly affirming the reality that we are creating together. If my partner tells me that I’m a doctor, then I’m a doctor. End of story. I can be any kind of doctor I want to be until one of us specifies, but I am a doctor:

You: Doctor, we have a problem!

Me: Ok, nurse. I’m ready to do brain surgery right this time.

OR

You: Doctor, we have a problem!

Me: Please, my friends just call me Dre. Let’s just get this track down.

Here is a BAD choice:

You: Doctor, we have a problem!

Me: No we don’t it’s all under control.

Or an even worse response –

You: Doctor, we have a problem!

Me: I’m not a doctor, I’m a blind cowboy.

You can’t play with anyone until you agree with them!

As improvisers, we agree. Because it is the best way to play.

Agreement does not mean that we agree that the other person is right.

It means that we agree that what is happening is really happening. We agree on reality.

We may completely disagree what our scene partner does, but it doesn’t matter. To deny the reality of our pretend world makes it vanish into awkward meaninglessness.

There are at least four reasons why people don’t agree in improv (and life):

1. Hidden Agendas.

This is the biggest reason younger improvisers have for disagreeing. An actor will think before the scene starts something like, “I’m gonna be Tarzan.” Then he walks on stage and his partner leads with, “Doctor, we have a problem.” The amateur will instinctively say, “No.” Because he thinks he is Tarzan. But only he knows he thinks that. His partner made him a doctor, so he’s a doctor. The reality we live in is mutually created moment by moment. Nobody except all of us is allowed to be the writer the story.

2. Self-absorption.

If you don’t hear your partner, you can’t agree with her. If you don’t watch your partner, you can’t tell a story together. Your partner matters more than you do in any scene. You can’t play without her. The more fun she has, the longer you get to play together and the better story you tell. In short, it’s never about you. You only exist to serve the story and the other storytellers.

3. Fear.

Unfortunately, we tend to say “no” when we don’t know what else to do. People are watching. Our partner may be struggling. So we take over, ignore everything we have created together and try to save face. It never works. You will look desperate. Better to agree and fail together, then disagree and die alone.

4. Pimping.

The best improvisational comedians aren’t trying to be funny. They are trying to be in the present and tell a story. Funny comes from being real. In every scene, there is always the opportunity to tell a cheap joke at the expense of your partner. (We call this pimping for obvious reasons.) You can pimp your partner by selling them out to get a cheap laugh. And the audience will laugh. Once. But you killed the scene before it started…and you damaged the trust of your partner because you were selfish.

This thinking has gone way beyond a hobby or a job for me. Agreement is my life philosophy. It doesn’t mean that I have to agree with everyone’s opinions. Lots of people are wrong about lots of things.

But it does mean that I have to agree to reality.

Especially in matters concerning God, Jesus and the faith.

For instance, my denominational heritage (Christian/Church of Christ) tends to interpret most all of the Bible “literally.” Let’s take a less controversial story like Jonah. I now think it is clearly allegory. I was taught growing up that if I think that way, I am “on a slippery slope” to heresy. At some point, through study and contemplation, it just screamed out to me that the reality is that parts of the Bible are meant to be allegorical. Do I really think some guy was physically in the belly of a fish for several days – not only surviving, but writing and memorizing Hebrew poetry?

No. I don’t believe that actually happened. The point is that I had to overcome my hidden agenda, self-absorption, and fear to see the reality that was there all along. I was also pimping the book of Jonah – selling it out for a quick and easy interpretation. Now I am free to play with a brilliant piece of literature.

I see a lot of issues boiling up in and around the church that are divisive. Some of them have yet to reach their climax. It’s not going to be pretty when they do. What I see, often on both sides of any given hot button topic, is a lot of hidden agendas, self-absorption, fear and ruthlessness. This makes honest discussion (let alone unity) impossible. Until we can agree on what is actually going on in the world, we can’t work (or play) together. We can’t agree until we shed our agendas, egos and fears. That’s hard to do. It means vulnerability. It means, not just that I might not get my way, but that I certainly will not get my way.

But we could find our way together.

That’s what an improvisational Christianity looks like to me.

Are you ready to say Yes to reality?

Even if it paralyzes you with fear?

Even if it takes away your power?

Even if it is the harder road?

I had planned on sharing my list of the“realities” that I think we are ignoring. But I would love to hear yours instead. I’d also love to see if we can practice respecting each other’s concept of reality within these very comments.

How long can we play together before defaulting to the age-old time-tested Christian practice of the “No” we call excommunication? It will be an interesting experiment to find out. (I was excommunicated again just yesterday on my friend Kurt’s blog - but not by Kurt.)

What do you think? What is the reality we are currently living in? How do we get past our agendas, egos, fears and comfortability to joyfully play together again in the world we all share?

Hate Religion/Love Jesus Video?

January 13, 2012 in creativity, culture, love, meaning, storytelling with 3 Comments

A spoken word piece called Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus just went viral. I had 63 Facebook friends recommend it to me yesterday alone. I really wanted to like it, but just couldn’t fully embrace it for some reason. Not all art is for everyone. It’s subjective. I’m happy for the artist that over 6 million people have seen it in a few days. I’m not a hater.

That said, here’s my favorite spoken word piece about God. We liked Anis so much we brought him in to do this piece for our next movie, A Strange Brand of Happy. Today seemed like a good day to share it with you, since the world seems to want more spoken word viral videos.

Anis makes me happy when he tells me I make God happy.

I do think the Religion/Jesus piece is great in the sense that it is starting some interesting conversations, including this one.

The Right Kind of Christian Subculture? [Guest Writer- Kurt Willems]

January 6, 2012 in church, community, culture, gospel, kingdom of god with 13 Comments

I will be asking some bloggers whom I regularly read to write a guest article on joeboydblog.com this year. My first guest blogger is Kurt Willems. Kurt writes at The Pangea Blog and you can follow him on Twitter at @KurtWillems.

Faith doesn’t have to be defined by second-rate alternatives.

Christian culture is known for its alternatives. For any student in high school ministries around the turn of the millennium, posters in the youth room gave a clear indication of this. If you like Tupac, then you will like the Gospel Gangstas. If you like Britney Spears, then you will like Stacie Orrico. If you like the Backstreet Boys, then you will like Plus One. If you like the Wu-Tang Clan, then you will like the Cross Movement. And if you like P.O.D., then you will like … P.O.D.? Admittedly, P.O.D. demonstrates an exception to the pattern …

Not P.O.D. - Joe added this, not Kurt. Rock on!

Around the same time Christian nightclubs began to pop up as alternatives to the “club scene.” Extreme sports emerged and so did the movie Extreme Days. Social media changed culture significantly so Christians decided they ought to answer back with their alternatives such as GodTube. Add to this tendency of substitution the common jargon of Christian-ese and WWJD wristbands and you end up with a Christian alternative subculture.

In popular culture, alternatives can be either a hip rebellion against the institution or simply what we call generic. Instead of Dr. Pepper, you can drink Dr. Thunder. Problem: the alternatives never measure up to the original. Yet Christians love to propagate alternatives.

In theory, the Christian subculture isn’t a terrible idea. Unfortunately, Christianity often expresses the wrong kind of alternative. This isn’t to say that all of the things listed above are bad in and of themselves, but that we sell ourselves short if that is the only kind of alternative the Church is known for.

In the New Testament, we’re given a picture of the Kingdom people of God who organize themselves around an alternative king, namely Jesus. The greatest alternative isn’t a second-rate imitation of things from the popular culture, but rather a community (many communities in local contexts) who together live in a radically different way – the way of Jesus. In a world where the popular thing was to proclaim, “Caesar is Lord,” the earliest followers of The Way declared, “Jesus is Lord.” This wasn’t just a war of words, but a change in allegiance, one that often meant social marginalization and for some, death. Yet, this movement flourished. Why? Because the Kingdom of God unleashes a beautiful alternative that is so different and creative, that it’s attractive and has the potential to enhance the rest of the world.

The Kingdom of God ought to be known as an enhanced society, not an “almost as good as the popular culture” or “safe from the evils of all things secular” bubble. Scot McKnight says it well: “The kingdom of God, in short compass, is the society in which the will of God is established to transform all of life.” N.T. Wright offers another glimpse into the Kingdom, noting that currently, “heaven is the control room for earth” because “the one who is in heaven is the one who is ruling on earth.” Taken together we can understand the Kingdom of God as: God’s ruling activity embodied within a transformative community for the sake of the world. God’s invitation to us is to become known as a kingdom kind of alternative culture.

Some signs of a Kingdom alternative include:

  • Love of God
  • Love of neighbors within and outside of the covenant community
  • Seeking the welfare of all people
  • Defying hatred and greed
  • Feeding the hungry
  • Clothing the naked
  • Bearing each others’ burdens
  • Choosing self-sacrifice over the sword
  • Redistribution of resources for the purposes of social uplift
  • Wonderful marriages
  • Love of enemies
  • Sexual purity
  • Healthy conflict / resolution in the midst of quarrels
  • Learning more about the Scriptures as an open-minded community of disciples
  • Healings, signs, wonders and the unleashing of all forms of creativity
  • Justice for the marginalized

Imagine if these were the things that the Church was actually known for. The reputation of the Church wouldn’t merely be as a manufacturer of generic imitations, but rather the kind of alternative that the New Testament envisions.

How do we change our rep? This seems to be happening already as a new generation of Christ-followers begins to take up the mantle of Kingdom creativity. Many young adult followers of the way of Jesus continue to reclaim the radical revolutionary nature of the Gospel. The recovery of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) as central to Christian community in the present and the simultaneous vision of God’s future redemption of all created reality, motivates us to broker a message of hope to the outside culture (Romans 8.18-28, Revelation 21-22, Ephesians 1.10). If Jesus invites us into a counter-cultural discipleship community, and if God’s new creation reality draws us toward the kind of world where all things will be restored, then our alternative has the potential to become the most relevant gift that anyone could ever offer our culture.

In a culture plagued with disease, we can offer healing. In a culture of a lost sexual identity, we can offer a path toward discovering the One who makes us fully human. In a culture of violence, we can offer peacemaking. In a culture of economic injustice, we can offer generosity. In a culture of hatred and division, we can offer love and acceptance. In a culture of death, we can offer the sanctity of all forms of life. In a culture of conformity, we can offer a prophetic alternative.

Guided as communities empowered by the Holy Spirit, fresh possibilities for creative life patterns emerge. We don’t need to create second-rate imitations—the Kingdom of God is far better.

———————————————————————————

Kurt Willems is an Anabaptist writer and pastor who is preparing for church planting next year by finishing work toward a Master of Divinity degree at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. He writes at: the Pangea Blog and is also on Twitter and Facebook.

Shirley Jones, Marlon Brando and God.

January 4, 2012 in a strange brand of happy, creativity, culture, filmmaking, improv, improvisational christianity, independent films, meaning, movies, progressive christianity, rebel pilgrim productions with 2 Comments

*This article was originally posted yesterday on Patheos.com as part of my Improvisational Christianity series.

Warning: Name-dropping ahead!

I had the pleasure this summer to work opposite Shirley Jones. Shirley won the Academy Award for her role in Elmer Gantry in 1960. She may be better known these days as Mrs. Partridge, but she was a certified top-of-the-A-list movie star 50 years ago. We did a scene together in our latest romantic comedy, A Strange Brand of Happy. Brad Wise, the director, asked us to simply improvise a conversation to see what might happen. Brad knows that I am an improv guy and tends to give me a lot of freedom as an actor. We did the scene. And Shirley did great. But I will never forget what she said to me after the take.

“That was fun,” she whispered.

I agreed.

“I’ve never done that before,” she sheepishly admitted.

“Never done what?” I asked.

“Improvised on camera,” she said. “I was never allowed to before today.”

She is 77. (An amazingly gorgeous 77.)

This was her 90th screen credit as an actor.

I was stunned.

How could that be true? She had never been allowed to improvise? Ever?

The actual scene being shot. That’s my back…Shirley’s face.

I reflected later on her words:

“It was fun…I’ve never been allowed to do that before.”

Those are powerful words. At the end of the four-week shoot, Shirley told Brad that her experience on our little movie was the most rewarding professional experience of her life.

Umm. Did I mention that she has an Oscar!?. That couldn’t be true. Could it?

It made me start to wonder how many people of faith have never been allowed to improvise….have never had enough freedom to have fun…have never felt the out-on-the-edge high that comes with making life up with someone else in an unknown moment.

Here is a scene from On the Waterfront (1954) with Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint. It is one of the most famous improvisations in the history of film.  About 45 seconds in Eva Marie Saint accidentally drops her glove. The director should have called cut at that point. But he didn’t. So Brando kept going. The following 90 seconds or so were completely improvised.  It resulted in a brilliantly real scene, a very famously funny line (“the crickets make me nervous”) and three Academy Awards.

One for Brando.

One for Saint.

And one for the silent director, Elia Kazan.

In my opinion, he may have won Best Director for what he did not do. He didn’t say “cut” when every other director in 1954 would have. He allowed them to keep going.

Check it out for yourself. What do you notice changing after the glove drops? Does it feel more real? More true?

So let’s play some metaphoric aerobics for half a second.

Where are we yelling “cut” too quickly in life? Are we accepting the dropped gloves in our lives or allowing them to shut everything down? Or, like Shirley, what amazingly fun and brilliant moments are we not allowing people to have as we stubbornly worship the pre-scripted future?

An Improvisational Christianity learns to pick up the glove and keep going. The Improvisational Christian finds God after the moment everyone else yells, “Cut!”

I’ll be back Friday discussing the third rule of improv – and the most important one: Agree and Accept.

@JoeBoyd blogs daily at www.joeboydblog.com.

*photo courtesy Russ Beckner

140 or Less. My Interview with Dr. Tony Jones

January 3, 2012 in church, comedy, culture, religion, SNL, theology, Twitter with 5 Comments

You know how James Lipton asks his guests on Actors Studio the same questions by Bernard Pivot? So that’s awesome, right?

"James Lipton" with "Charles Nelson Reilly"

I wanted a similar bit for my blog this year. So, I’ve asked several of my friends who interest me to answer the same 12 questions. The only ground rule is that each response must be limited to 140 characters, twitter-style. I couldn’t figure out whether to call these Twitterviews, Tweeterviews or Twinterviews. So I landed on 140 or Less.

My first guest (and guinea pig) is Tony Jones. He has a PhD from some school in New Jersey with a lousy football team. Here is his official bio:

Tony is the author of The Church Is Flat: The Relational Ecclesiology of the Emerging Church Movement and is theologian-in-residence at Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis and an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and at Andover Newton Theological School. He is the author of many books on Christian ministry and spirituality, including The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier and The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, and he is a sought after speaker and consultant in the areas of emerging church, postmodernism, and Christian spirituality. He co-owns a social media consulting and event planning company. Tony is married, has three children, and lives in Edina, Minnesota.

(Drum roll in your head please.) And now the first ever edition of 140 or Less with Dr. Tony Jones!

Tony Jones

JOE:  Tony, tweet to the first person you kissed.

TONY:  Lisa Washington. She kissed me, actually, in 6th grade. Her dad played for the Vikings, so I was scared.

JOE:  Tweet your bio as if you were your biggest fan.

TONY:  @jonestony calls the church to be better than it is. And he’s a good writer.

JOE:  Tweet your bio as if you were the one person who hates you the most.

TONY:  @jonestony hasn’t said anything new or interesting in years.

JOE:  Tweet to potential visitors to your city.

TONY: #Edina is a suburb of #Minneapolis, but it’s more than a suburb. It’s a city, with a village feel.

JOE:  Tweet as your present self to yourself ten years ago.

TONY:  @jonestony, you’d better face the fact that you’re going to lose that hair. In better news, you will be able to grow a mean beard.

JOE:  Tweet to someone you love who has passed.

TONY:  I miss you, Beaumont. You were a good dog. I don’t, however, miss your gas.

JOE:  Tweet your #1 rule of leadership.

TONY: The younger you are, the less you know. Realizing this will save you a world of hurt.

JOE:  Tweet to the American voter.

TONY:  Vote, but don’t be #stupid.

JOE:  Tweet to God

TONY:  Seriously, a little empirical evidence of your existence would be appreciated.

JOE:  Tweet your own epitaph.

TONY:  He wrote a lot of books. Some of them are still in print.

JOE:  Choose one – tweet to Yoda, Gandalf, Santa Claus or Charles Nelson Reilly.

TONY:  CNR, were you separated at birth from @markscandrette?

JOE:  For those of us captivated by your brilliant and witty responses, how can we find out more about you?

TONY:  You can find me at http://tonyj.net.  Also on http://fb.com/jonestony and @jonestony.

That’s it! Thanks Tony. If all seriousness, Tony’s stuff is great. He is really smart and an important voice in the emerging church. So follow him, read his blog and get his books.

Next week on 140 or Less is Mark Batterson, best-selling author of books like The Circle Maker, Primal and In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day.

And now…A Free Bonus Video!

http://www.hulu.com/embed/tviiSjI5dMb0aXtk5KhWeg?shared_ad_id=79499

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