The rules of faith, improv

Ten years ago, I attended Second City Theater in Chicago for a class in improvisational acting, or improv as it is commonly called. Improv is live theater without a script. The actors make up a story spontaneously. Because no one knows what the others will contribute to the story, the results are a surprise to the cast as well as the audience.

 

I expected to benefit my communication skills, but I came away with much more. I found a profound way to view my role both as a leader of a church and a follower of God. Christians often speak of a “wonderful plan” that God has for each of our lives. I certainly believe God has hopes and expectations, but I don’t think there is usually one specific script for a life. God has granted us great freedom within moral limits. While God wants to spare us the grief of destructive choices, I think God wants us to make some choices on our own. He wants us to tell a good story with our life, much the way a healthy parent hopes of growing children. In short, life is improvised even for Christians. 

 

Improv, like faith, has rules that give structure, meaning and beauty. Four basic rules of improv are these: listen, cooperate, contribute and have fun. To begin with, the players have to listen closely to their partners and to the audience. They have to pay attention to make sure that they are on the same page and telling the same story.

 

Listening is a Christian discipline. We all need to listen to God, and we need to listen to each other. “To answer before listening—that is folly and shame,” says Proverbs 18:13. Real listening is rare today. Most people only listen to get enough information to pursue their own agenda. We have all spoken to a salesperson who only wanted to sell us something. We all also know that one person who only listens enough so he can explain why we are wrong. Honestly, I’m guilty of this same behavior more often than I like to think.

 

A good definition of listening is given by an improv instructor named Dave Morris: “Listening is the willingness to change.” There is no improv theater unless the actors are willing to change. In our improv class there were people who were fun to work with, and there were people who were not so much. If someone decides in advance what they want or don’t want in a sketch, then the story won’t happen. When only one person tells the story, there is no collaboration. Collaboration only happens if the collaborators are willing to change.

 

True listening means being at least vulnerable to new information that might change my life in some way, large or small. This doesn’t mean I have to change or give up my discernment. But if a group is going to develop in any type of endeavor, there has to be trust that what each member says is going to matter. This goes for a theater group, or a church or a business or a family. We earn trust only to the extent that we are open to what other people say. Listening means being willing to change.

 

The second rule is to cooperate. Improvisers often use the phrase, “Say Yes.” In other words, affirm what your partner says. Obviously, this is important in our relationship with God. In prayer, I need to say ‘yes’ to God. But I also need to say ‘yes’ to others within reasonable and moral limits. Ephesians 5:21 says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Submitting to one another simply means to put others’ needs ahead of our own. When someone asks me to meet a legitimate healthy need, I should say ‘yes,’ if I can. I need to be inclined to say ‘yes’ to others. 

 

The next rule is to contribute. We not only say ‘yes,’ but ‘yes, and...’ Improv is at its best when everybody unselfconsciously adds to the story. Everybody is included. This is true in every group, especially in a church. This is why it says in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” Everybody has a function. Everybody has a contribution to make. And everyone has free will to make the contribution or not.

 

The final rule is to have fun. Human beings are born playful, but as we mature, we often lose this capacity. This is sad because having a sense of humor about life is essential to our health. If you look out at nature even in your own backyard, you see God’s creatures playing. Jesus himself had fun. He was falsely accused of having too much fun, of attending the wrong dinner parties and drinking too much. He made jokes and he had nicknames for his disciples.

 

I believe that God has given us our freedom with the hope that we will listen to Him, cooperate with Him, and then contribute our own decisions. He wants us to listen, and say ‘yes,’ but also to say ‘and.’ Remember; God is a loving Father, not a controlling tyrant. And He is a lot of fun.