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Narrow Way, Broadway | Part V | Cast List

Is that my name up on that list? Does someone know that I exist? 
Is this a mistake? Am I even awake? Pinch me now to make sure - Ow! 
...
I'm too busy loving my name up on that list - kind of a cool, ironic twist.
Who else can I tell? Oh! Where's my cell? Mom will fall on the floor - Hey, Mom! 
...
I'll be there on Monday, 9 o'clock, and we will see who walks the walk.
No, no, I can't wait! I will be there at 8 when they unlock the door.
...
I feel so much better than before!

💖 / Woods, Elle

P.S. Have you heard? Pink is the new black.
P.S.S. Watch my performance of So Much Better here!
P.S.S.S. Mild content warning - mind your volume if you're somewhere public.

The night before the Cast List was posted held more anticipation than Christmas Eve. My alarm clock was set - not that I'd need it, sleeping with one eye open and fixated on those glow-in-the-dark hands inching toward daybreak - my outfit was selected, and my prayers and pleas to God signed, sealed, delivered. 

Mom knew how important the day was for me, so she would drive me to school early, and I'd plant myself at the door of Mrs. M's classroom, listening to the soundtrack of that Spring's musical on my hot pink iPod and sending up a few more prayers just in case the first ones got lost in the mail.

As the empty halls started filling with students, I found myself among others crowding at the door, eagerly sharing which role they were hoping to be cast in. 

When Mrs. M finally arrived, my classmates split like the Red Sea, paving a clear path to that beloved door, where the List that determined our Spring semester fate would hang. She was ready with the List in-hand, and as soon as it was taped up, she would go in, close the door behind her, and listen to the squeals of joy and wails of disappointment that ensued.

It feels good to be Chosen, doesn't it? To be the hand-selected recipient of an exclusive invitation? To know that someone thought of you and desires and values your presence? And conversely, what a sting it is to be rejected or left out; to have put yourself out there and then be told that you aren't good enough - you didn't make the cut.

Elle Woods was no stranger to rejection. After being turned down by the love of her life, Warner Huntington III, her whole world was shattered. Being rejected for who she authentically was led her to strive to become something she wasn't to win him back. (OMG you guys, did you hear? She thought about going brunette. Tragic). 

Signing up for Harvard Law School to become more 'serious', she encountered even further rejection by her peers and professors. She was a complete laughing stock. But it didn't stop her. I love how writer Renee Changnon put it, "...I think I was most enthralled by a woman stepping into a world she was told she didn't belong in - and transforming in the process...Elle may have started out chasing a boy, but she ended up discovering herself."  

As soon as I was old enough to understand what the words 'Exegesis', 'Predestination' and 'Elect' meant, my pen-pal relationship with Jesus was replaced with a deep existential fear: "What if (the two words that precede every fear of mine) I don't make the List? What if this life is one grand audition for Heaven and I didn't hit the high note?" 

As my love for performing on-stage in high school gave way to begrudgingly painting sets behind the scenes to pay my way through Bible college (I couldn't quite hit those high notes when it came to collegiate-level theatre), Proverbs 9:10 took on a whole new meaning for me. The 'fear' of the Lord became the motivating force behind my every move.   

Now that Jesus and I have started writing to each other again, He's placed a question in my heart: "What if (the two words that precede every curiosity of mine) the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...but it doesn't have to be the end?" 

The thought came to me as I was meditating on the words of Amazing Grace: 

'Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear....And Grace my fears relieved. 

What if the Grace given to us through Christ's perfect love really does cast out fear, as the apostle John writes in 1 John 4:18: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment."? 

So when it comes to being a follower of Christ, who makes the cut? Who's in and who's out? Who's hot and who's not? Whose name is up on that 'List'? 

Somewhere along the way, I think the title of the List changed from "Followers of Christ" to "Those who agree with our version of theology", and we are back to squeals of joy and wails of disappointment in a fractured Church preaching exclusion to those who sang flat on the high note. 

'Heretic' is another big word that I have both used and have been called. It's a term often used in a derogatory way for those that hold beliefs or opinions contrary to orthodox (generally accepted, traditional) doctrine. The Pharisees saw Jesus as a heretic, but even here - can we rightfully judge even the Pharisees? 

Debie Thomas, author of Into the Mess & Other Jesus Stories writes, 

"[Jesus] doesn't argue that all religious traditions are evil. What He indicts is the legalism, self-righteousness, and exclusivism that keeps the Pharisees from freely loving God and loving their neighbors in ways that are relevant to their time and place. What He challenges is their unwillingness to evolve and mature for the sake of God's kingdom. What He grieves is the Pharisees' compulsive need to police the boundaries - to decide who is 'In' and who is 'Out' based on their own narrow definitions of purity and piety.

Again, it's easy for us to look down on the Pharisees, but honestly, are we any different? Don't we often behave as if we're finished products, with nothing new to discover about the Holy Spirit's movements in the world? Don't we cling to spiritual traditions and practices that long ago ceased to be life-giving, simply because we can't bear to change 'the way we've always done things'? Don't we set up religious litmus tests for each other and decide who's in and who's out based on conditions that have nothing to do with Jesus's open-hearted love and hospitality? Don't we fixate on the forms of piety we can put on display for others to applaud, instead of cultivating the secret and Hidden life of God within our souls?"    

Jesus has asked us to do some Character work - "In this world we are like Jesus." (1 John 4:17, NIV)

A clarification and reminder (for mostly myself): The goal was never to be in perfect agreement, but to demonstrate Love in spite of disagreements. Less "Uniform" and more "Unified." 

So can we put Jesus back on Center Stage and welcome the Ensemble of those who Love Him and are chasing after Him - whatever that looks like? 

CAST LIST: 

Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Baptist Believer
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Catholic Believer
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Presbyterian Believer (man that's a hard word to spell)
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Doubting/Questioning Believer
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Pentecostal Believer (big day coming up!) 
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Methodist Believer
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Episcopalian Believer
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Mystic Believer
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Non-Denominational Believer
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Evangelical Believer
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Lutheran Believer
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The LGBTQIA+ Believer (happy June, friends)
Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . The Orthodox Believer

Follower of Jesus . . . . . . . "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the Love God has for us. God is Love. Whoever lives in Love lives in God, and God in them. This is how Love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in Love. But perfect Love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in Love. We love because He first loved us." (1 John 4:15-19, NIV)

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