Lessons from The Incredibles

The DVD version of The Incredibles includes a special feature in which director Brad Bird (who also did a great animated film called The Iron Giant, starring none other than Harry Connick Jr.!) talks about how in the creation of The Incredibles there were certain parts that he had pretty well in mind, other parts for which he knew some but not all of what he wanted, and then other parts that were so complex he had only an idea of the process by which he wanted to create the sequence. This strikes me as a great metaphor for how we should go about church life. The modern tendency is to program everything to the hilt. Many times we program the life out of church, and I think this comes largely from a will to control. Having been involved in various programs at various churches, I know all too well the temptation to control how programs develop and are executed. Some parts needs to be controlled, to be sure. But other parts need breathing room to develop and grow in their own organic way. We need not fear the movement of the Spirit. Well, then again perhaps we do, but that is a fear appropriate to creatures of God, a fear worth embracing.