It’s hard to believe how happened in the month of April. I watched what was easily one of the best mini-series I have ever seen, I got one of the worst sinus infections I have ever had and started the next chapter in my faith journey.

Out of my comfort zone

One of the leaders at my church reached out to me one Friday afternoon and asked if I would be willing to read some scripture and pray before communion. This is a little thing in the grand scheme of things, but it meant the world to me. I have been a Christian for a little over 20 years. My faith has gone through waves of being rock solid to super unstable. I started my deconstruction journey about three or four years ago, it’s hard to say exactly when it started, but it’s been a while. I used to be very timid about sharing my faith and the questions I had surrounding it but through this process (and a lot of therapy dealing with self-worth) I have become more comfortable sharing my thoughts and questions. Even sharing my thoughts on why I don’t believe in Biblical inerrancy with the lead pastor of my church. In previous settings I have been shut out after expressing my thoughts, it felt good to be asked to pray for the church even after sharing with others.

Along with that I have begun what we are referring to as “seminary light”. It’s really a church leadership training program sponsored by the organization that planted the church we are attending, but we are learning and discussing a lot of the things you would in a seminary program, just in a much more condensed and approachable fashion. It’s exciting and nerve-wracking but I am looking forward to the journey.

Midnight Mass

I am a big fan of the Voxology Podcast and during Halloween last year they re-aired an episode from a previous year where they discussed the mini-series Midnight Mass. I am not a huge horror fan but the fact that it was being discussed on one of my favorite faith-based podcasts was enough to pique my interest. So I finally worked up the courage to give it a watch. It was only eight episodes long, how bad could it be?

The series is created and written by Mike Flanagan, I hadn’t watched anything else by Mike so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was surprised to find one of the most beautiful and compelling stories surrounding the complexities of the Christian faith I have ever seen. The writing is top notch, and you can tell this was a very important story for Mike to tell. While he is no longer a practicing Christian, he was able to capture all the nuances of the faith and the tough questions and conversations I think we should all have. The conversations depicted seem very real, the questions asked were deep and insightful. I caught myself coming to tears many times throughout the series. I don’t want to spoil the story, even though this is a few years old now, but I highly recommend giving it a watch. The horror is not that intense outside of a few very brief scenes so don’t let that deter you.

Wrapping things up…

The art stuff is moving slowly, I was hoping to have a solid idea for what I am showing at the Menil before the end of April but I am struggling to find the right thing. I feel like I am heading in the right direction but it’s not quite there yet but I know it will come together.