I’ll write till I die, I suppose. Writing got much harder for me after Blue Like Jazz took off, and until this last book I even considered finding other work, mostly because my voice began to feel affected. Million Miles changed that because, for reasons I don’t understand, I stopped caring how the words made me sound, and cared more about how the words sounded. The process reminded me that I could actually love writing the way I did before I got published. I hope whatever book comes next is as much fun.
That said, though, there has always been a job I’d rather have than writing. And I recently got that job. I won’t quit my day job, but I’m ecstatic to have the part-time work.
I was recently asked to host an interview program that will release as a small-group curriculum and, perhaps, a podcast. The program is called Converge, and the aim of the show is to explore that place where the stuff of faith meets the stuff of life. EMI will be distributing the material, and I’m not certain when it will release, but I owe them and the people at Creative Trust a debt of gratitude for giving me the job I’ve wanted for years.
Nearly every night I fall asleep to either Charlie Rose or Tavis Smiley. I prefer interviews on PBS because, without the pressing need to sell advertising, the guests are usually more interesting, and less sensational. It’s a job even Larry King wants, saying recently that he gets tired of interviewing the nanny of Michael Jackson’s kids when we are building up to another war in Afghanistan.
I know it’s not a late-night show on PBS, but at least with Converge I get to sit with some of the smartest theologians in the world and listen, rather than talk. And the listening is already proving profound results.
A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Dan Allendar and Dr. Tremper Longman for three hours on marriage and for another three hours on Ecclesiastes and false idols. At one point, while Dan Allendar described the beauty and purpose of marriage, there was hardly a dry eye in the room. Both the conversation about marriage and the conversation about false idols were fascinating, and I hope to have clips for you soon.
Monday I will fly back to Nashville to spend two days interviewing Lauren Winner about the spiritual disciplines and then Phyllis Tickle regarding story, and the elements of a human narrative. Lauren is the author of the acclaimed memoir Girl Meets God, but we will mostly be talking about the content in her book Mudhouse Sabbath, about having grown up Jewish, and converting to Christianity while holding fast to the physical disciplines and ancient traditions of her faith. And Phyllis Tickle is widely considered one of America’s most accomplished spiritual writers, whose book The Shaping of a Life accounts a rich character transformation sharpened by the chisel of internal and external conflict.
Are you familiar with their work?
If you’ve read Lauren or Phyllis, is there a specific question regarding spiritual disciplines or story that you’d like me to ask? I’d love to slip your question in. I can’t promise you it will make the edits, but who knows.
All that to say, before I head back to Nashville for the next series of interviews, I’d love to run the guests and topics by you in hopes of a broader understanding of the topic. Why not include this blog as part of the program, you know.
I’ll fill you in as the series moves forward. We should have something available for you to see in January.
Okay, questions for Phyllis or Lauren?
Best,
Don
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m looking forward to Converge. Timely and sounds like fun with practicality built in.
Qn for Lauren: How did the physical disciplines and the ancient traditions of her Jewish faith converge with meeting the living Jesus Christ?
Qn for Phyllis: How did you maintain the balance between the internal world and the external world during the chiseling? What would you recommend to other women on the journey?
Don, I hope you get to interview Coach John Wooden UCLA Legendary Coach….Perhaps one of the best theologians in the land. We likely won’t have him much longer. —Nice opportunity and fit for you.
JRS
Don, you are hitting the good ones aren’t you? We hosted Dan Allendar back in November for a Marriage workshop preceeded the night before with a discussion on Leadership. What an incredible inspiration.
On a personal level, he and Longmans’ book “Intimate Allies” was one of the critical components of the reconciliation between my wife and I while we were divorced. It helped move us towards remarrying almost eight year ago after five years of divorce preceded by seventeen years of marriage.
Lauren Winner spoke at our Women’s retreat this past spring.
Phyllis Tickle spent the weekend with us at our Staff/Elders retreat last December and is coming to speak at one of our Table & Fire Live events in November.
Phyllis is a classic storyteller along the lines of a Horton Foote. I would be interested to hear her thoughts on how “story” has changed over the history of the church. Not so much the essence of the story but how the sharing of the story has been impacted by culture, technology, politics and so forth.
She is incredibly savy in grasping the technology of the day as it relates to story and community and seemed quite firm that many folks in the church world are woefully atrophied in their ability to stretch beyond their comfort zone . . . in telling the story.
I will forward your request over to some of the women who heard Lauren Winner at their retreat and solict input from them to you.
Bill
I don’t have any questions for Phyllis or Lauren – I just had to say that when I saw you interviewed Dan Allendar and Tremper Longman I said out loud, “Lucky dog.” I’m looking forward to any clips you post!
lauren is so good… you should get her talking about confession. she mentioned it in real sex, and i want to hear more!
What are the books you use for a daily discipline.
Michael
(Nashville)
Mudhouse Sabbath was very influential in reshaping the spiritual disciplines I practiced already, but mostly did out of a sense of duty to represent Christianity thoroughly. Lauren was able to bridge Old Testament practices with New Testament freedom seamlessly.
My question, though, is whether there remains a somewhat constant tension for her between the two. The difficulty for me in, for instance, practicing a sabbath is that I have to be careful to not bank on a sabbath–to realize that there may be times when it’s just not possible and that’s okay. In which ways does Lauren take these practices and work them out in real life, without the rigidity of the law? How does she keep doing these things, without attaching her spiritual worth to them? Is that possible? And/Or is it right to attach spiritual worth to spiritual practices?
Loved Mudhouse Sabbath, we read it for an Old Testament class in college.
I would love to here her response to these couple of questions:
1) What is the biggest difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament…
conti…what is the difference between the God of the Jews and the God of the Christians?
thanks Don, cannot wait for the interviews.
Glad you are getting to do something you love.
Very refreshing…
I had the pleasure of interviewing Phyllis. Ask her about her dad growing up and how he gave her freedom to explore as a young girl. It’s fascinating stuff.
Question: Can disbelief be as real as belief? Or one as strong as the other?
Wow! I love the questions and topics posted so far. I’m guessing that these interviews could be bottomless pits of fascinating conversation and enrichment if you didn’t have any time limits. But since you do, I will pray for your interviews to take fresh paths of approach to the topics already explored on pages of books. That the conversation deepens insights and expands thoughts on God’s truth and grace. Well, in my opinion, all conversation has that potential…and in these cases you have the Holy Spirit in the mix which adds excitement and the mystery of God’s perfection.
tickle:
What changes the shape of a disfigured life? How do emotions play into that, if at all?
I would be interested to know what kind of everyday routines they keep.
When they wake up, do they have to drink 3 cups of coffee and peruse the New York Times? Do they rise at 5 am and head out to a writer’s shed, or do they wake late and scribble into the wee hours of the morning? How they get in ‘writer mode’? Do they use typewriters, legal pads, papyrus? How many hours do they typically write?
(Incidentally, I’d love to know how what kind of daily routines get you going, Don.)
DON!!!!
I am elated for you!!!! What a grand gig! You will be great at it>> “Hearts desires right?”… And maybe those deep questions answered! Nonetheless; congrats!
PRAISE HIM>>>
I just discovered Phyllis Tickle a couple months ago on a blog she was guest writing for. I immediately connected with her story telling style. I don’t know enough about her to ask any relevant questions, so I’ll be looking forward to Converge and leaning more about her!
(Dear God,
Please, please let Converge be a podcast! You know how I love ‘em.
Thank you. Amen)
That’s awesome, regarding your new line of work with Converge, but too, glad you’ll never stop writing. I recently hit a bit of a drought myself when it comes to writing. Figure I just need to get back to the basics (writing shorts) in hopes of once again finding my voice. Spent the last year working on a script which is totally different.
Anyway, really look forward to your interview with Phyllis Tickle. No questions though, I’ll just listen:)
Random question:
Who was the music in that video?
All the best,
Kaleb
So is this a private interview with Lauren Winner or is this at a meeting somewhere?
That sounds really great. I’m glad that doors are opening that you so desired to walk through. Also, I’m glad you continued writing. Read Searching, Blue, and To Own and I loved them all. I cried reading chapter 10 and 11 in To Own a Dragon. Looking forward to the next.
God is so good and He really does provide more than we could have ever imagined.
Sincerely, Shelly
in Girl Meets God we meet a young Lauren, full of passion and compulsion. Looking back on the decisions she made, stripping away all that was Judism, pasting icons on her walls, relationships …is there anything in that history that Lauren would like to clarify from hindsight years later? We can’t change the past, most of of us wouldn’t want to, but we can glean from the choices. What does the Lauren of today look like as a christian compared to the impulsive one of your college years?
Question for Lauren:
Throughout your work, (which I greatly enjoy,) you often speak of your movement from Judaism to Christianity, which we could say is a matter of which presentation/expression/tradition of deism to follow. I have wondered the more basic question of what brings you to deism in the first place?
Thanks,
Valerie
Wow! That would be a really neat job to have
I’m excited to hear how things go. And… as far as questions for Lauren and Phyllis, I think my general question would be the same for both of them:
How on earth do they manage to create a rhythm for the rituals of faith? I try and try and try, and it seems like I’m just not one of those people that does *anything* routinely. My day is never exactly the same… so how can people like me ever fit disciplines into their lives? Is it even possible or are spiritual disciplines just for people whose personalities lend themselves to routine?
Ask Phyllis why she feels so many minister’s and theologians are kicking against the goad of what’s happening
Ooh…I so wish I had been reading your blog back when your wrote this. I’m a huge fan of Lauren Winner. I love her story and her writing style. And for some reason, God has given me a love for Judiasm. As a gentile Christian, I can see significant meaning in the Jewish lifestyle…so my one question would have been, that after all she’s learned and experienced, how does one incorporate the Jewish rhythm into the Christian relationship? (if that even makes sense…)