Experience God’s love through laughter
Photography/Li Mei, Liao Meihui
What kind of balance and innovation can bring happiness into a spiritual environment?
This time I was serving in the eastern United States. It took almost a whole day on the way there. When I arrived at the KRC camp in Pennsylvania, I was already suffering from cervical spine pain, back pain, and migraine. However, God loves me in another way. KRC added a fun camp this year, inviting Uncle Button from Malaysia and John Coen from Ohio to teach adults and children how to perform balloon, clown and black light performances. The purpose is to use various novel and creative methods to break through the teaching methods of children's Sunday school, to incorporate joy into teaching, and to incorporate the message of Jesus into stories.
▲The Black Light Theater Troupe went on stage "without the face to meet people", but finally had the nerve to step off the stage and bow during the curtain call!
Black Light Theater Company: Just obey and follow with faith.
The climax of the press conference was on the night of August 19th when I arrived, so I accidentally bumped into it and enjoyed an incredible professional performance. The entire venue turned off the lights and the scenery was completely dark. The performers were all covered from head to toe, like Japanese samurai, so that no one could be seen on the entire stage. Only fluorescent puppets appeared and danced in rhythm to the beautiful poetry and music.
The power of music to move people forward can really make people filter out the worldly worries, constantly float to lightness, and have the exciting desire to dance with it. In the story of Genesis, the moon and stars are suddenly created, and plants and people are suddenly created. The darkness makes people wonder what happened in the beginning of chaos. The story of Jonah and the big fish is dynamic, three-dimensional and rhythmic...another fascinating sea world performance. There were many other lively performances that kept people applauding.
After the performance, the lights were turned on, and the hoods were taken off, panting, and a group of amateur children and adults appeared. Such a wonderful performance was performed without knowing why but only obeying.
Several people later shared that this was a spiritual subversion. Because I originally participated in the performance because I wanted to have the experience of showing my face on stage, but I didn't expect that this would be a "faceless" performance, and I had no idea who was who. From the beginning of making the fluorescent props, for some reason they had to be sewn rather than glued (it later turned out that the glued ones fell off during the performance). I have no idea of the performance effect. I just follow the director's instructions, hold props or puppets, and rehearse hundreds of times while counting the music beats. Each figure is a piece of the jigsaw puzzle. It is meaningless to separate it. Only when placed together can the overall image appear.
After several days of sweating and sweating, the muscles all over the body were sore, exhausted, and mentally distracted. The onlookers did not have high expectations for this press conference. In particular, director John is introverted and taciturn, without many instructions, and the rehearsals are chaotic, which makes people anxious. butPeople who participated in the performance said that when they saw the director holding up the puppet and hiding behind it with a serious face, patting and counting and making movements, they were moved and were willing to follow suit, which was why they performed such a shocking performance. performance.
To put it simply, the whole performance is a "following". It is a learning that is followed by faith.
This is in sharp contrast to the spirit of modern people who constantly demand explanations before taking action, participate in decision-making before taking orders, and do not know what obedience is. Painter Zhou Lanhui, who is used to freedom, repeatedly said that her life was turned upside down and she learned many profound things.
▲All members of the Black Light Theater Company and teachers John Coen and Uncle Button.
Happy Show: Hilarious points come naturally, no different on and off stage
Uncle Button's clown performance also has a face full of paint, like McDonald's clown. The exaggerated expression, the big red lips, the funny posture, every move caused a burst of laughter. It is surprising that the Chinese who lack a sense of humor can actually have a clown who not only performs stunts and magic by himself, but also brings the audience to the stage to interact with them. Moreover, every hilarious point is natural, and the skill of making balloons is skillful. One moment is love, the other is church building, and a finished product is shown in a few moments, and the message is also spoken at the same time, which makes people applaud continuously. The whole audience was filled with laughter and a high-spirited atmosphere, which is rare in Chinese churches.
▲Happy camp teachers Uncle Button, John Coen and camp founder Gao Lili.
After cleaning up, while talking to someone, a young and handsome man came over, and I realized that he was Uncle Button. This is a handsome Chinese man with big eyes and a tall figure, but he is willing to paint his face and dress too bulky to please the audience. If the performance is for obsessive applause, the applause he received goes without saying. However, when he got off the stage and appeared in plain sight, no one might recognize him. He said that once, he performed on the same stage with Dongfang Billy. When he got off the stage, a circle of people around Dongfang Billy enthusiastically asked for autographs. When he and his wife walked out, no one came to greet him, which was in harmony with the excitement on the stage. An obvious contrast.
▲Uncle Button uses balloons to tell stories, which is exciting and interesting!
The clown who brings laughter to people often makes people feel lonely and lonely off stage, swallowing the sadness of his own decline. But Uncle Button is different. He is just as funny off the stage, and giving laughter to others never seems to deprive him of his own sense of joy. This is the power of faith! There is no need to force a smile, and the more you give, the more you give.
▲The clown team of Happy Camp spreads the Lord’s love with creativity and joy!
Alternative "Word Incarnate": Explosive Creative Service
These two performances touched me greatly. I was extremely tired during the service, but because of the performance of this joy camp, it brought me an almost unfamiliar "happiness" that I had not experienced in a long time! What kind of balance and innovation can bring happiness into a spiritual environment? Christianity has too many missions, callings, challenges, and suffering for the Lord, but it lacks joy, free expression, jumping and laughing happily with the Lord.
▲A night in KRC history: Camp Chairman Wen Yingqian lowered his body and danced with Uncle Button.
At the North American National Pastors Conference in San Diego, I discovered the importance of this area in spiritual culture. There, every gathering starts with performances such as drama, sand painting, improvisational singing or talk shows, followed by worship by different bands, and finally the message. The length of time is almost the same. There is no emphasis on teaching words and light on music and drama. This is a mature spiritual culture, letting the word of Christ dwell in your heart richly with all wisdom (see Colossians 3:16).
That night, while watching the program, the feeling that came to my mind again and again was: God loves me so much! When you are tired and sore, there is such a special treat!That’s right, it’s not just to watch the fun, nor to watch the door. The real deep feeling when we get together is actually, God loves me so much!
Can people feel the love of Jesus in this way? Have you ever experienced it?We may be most familiar with worship and praise, or the gathering of the Holy Spirit, and at most we experience God’s love in the form of praise or tears. But experiencing God in laughter? Is it a lost pearl? If it is really developed, can you imagine what kind of explosive power it will have?
It cannot be denied that this kind of alternative "incarnation" is exactly what is missing in the Chinese church. I sincerely hope that this kind of creative service can sweep through Chinese churches, change children’s Sunday schools, and become a part of Chinese spiritual culture. When sharing such an experience, it can be imagined that I feel deeply blessed by the service of this lecture. I served and was served. Love and be loved. Blessings are blessed, creating a virtuous cycle of Christ’s love. I hope you will also have the opportunity to experience God’s love through laughter!
Author profile
Mo Fei came to the United States from Taiwan at the age of 18. He worked as a computer engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company in California for six years, then specialized in writing, and now lives in Los Angeles. He is the author of the prose "Accidentally, I Stumbled upon Paradise" and the novels "Portraits of Six Women", "Remnant Faces" and other books. He is a standard bookworm and lives in his head.