I Am The Elliots from FC Holden.

For years we’ve done series.  A lot of churches do series, and for the last 9 years we’ve been no different.  We’ve done series too.  Typically they are topical in nature and many times they are practical and timely.

But in his blog posts, Ben inspired me last year when he was preparing for Story ’09 to find our own voice as a church when we share the truths of God’s word.  Me?  I like stories.  I like Jesus stories.  I like Jewish stories.  I like mythological stories.  And I like stories of Forrest running from bullies in Greenbow, Alabama and meeting president after president after president because of the “circumstances” in his life.

So last fall when Ben was preaching the idea of story, Carie and I were viewing  the season 4 DVD’s of House and together were enthralled by the amazing storytelling techniques of the writers of this emmy winning show.   During this time, I had this thought:  Why couldn’t we do a season instead of a series?  Focusing not necessarily on a topic, but by a story inspired by the major themes of Scripture.

And the process began.  The first thing I did was acquire the help of one of my favorite writers, Jeff Campbell, who gladly accepted my idea and was ready to run with it.  So we started to talk about characters, development, story, arcs, and themes.  Then we began to write a story.  At first I participated, writing a few of the scripts, but then I gladly turned it over to the master, and Jeff has written a season of focused plot, interesting characters, and engaging themes.

Then MB took control.  As the producer and director of the new season, she drafted some great actors, and will be producing some of the stories that will be performed over the next 13 weeks at Fellowship Church.

So beginning this Sunday morning @Fellowship, February 7, 2010, we will be presenting a new season, called “I am the Eliots”.  The story of 4 individuals whose lives are forever changed when they lose someone they love.  A funeral doesn’t answer questions, a funeral asks them, and the questions they begin to ask are questions that we could all stand to ask as we wrestle with life here on planet earth.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the idea or if you’re in the area, what you thought about the premiere presentation here at Fellowship Church, or you will be able to view it online on FCTV.

My friend Brian said it best when I told him the idea about 3 months ago.  He listened intently, sounded shocked by its innovativeness, then responded,

“Marty, you’ll either look like a genius or an idiot.”