Loving Monday: Show, Don't Tell

We are fond, in the writing world, of saying, "Show, don't tell." In other words: give stories, pictures, an embodiment of what you're really trying to share.

Today, rereading The Pastor as Minor Poet I was struck by Barnes' assertion that the "pastor is less interested in making an argument for the presence of Jesus Christ than in simply showing him to the congregation."

Seems to me that's true for all of us: our lives should show Jesus more than arguing for Jesus.

How does this happen in the workplace? I love that Beckett's book Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul doesn't begin with the question of how we show Jesus in the workplace. It begins instead with the story of a career change— from the aerospace industry to the oil burner business. Neither of these arenas seem, on the surface, to offer obvious ways to show Jesus to the world.

That's why I'm waiting for the rest of the book.

Suffice it to say, by beginning with his story, Beckett grounds everything that's to come squarely in the details of his life.

A little aside now: recently I've had the privilege of beginning to work with Laura Boggess, one of the new Content Editors at HighCallingBlogs (who'll be leading the discussion of Beckett's book). A psychologist who works with trauma patients, Laura embodies Christ to her clients through the details of her life.

She embodies Christ to her HCB co-workers too, in the way she offers to help, often without waiting to be asked. There's something comforting about working with a person who doesn't just do what she needs to get by, but who lives creatively and generously. (Speaking of creativity, you'll want to check out her blog The Wellspring and, if you know a teen reader, her book Brody's Story.)

Barnes, Beckett, Boggess, you, me, how do we show, not just tell, Jesus? I think it begins with the details of our lives.


Reflection on the Stairwell at the Armory, photo by L.L. Barkat.

OTHER BOOK CLUB POSTS:
Lyla's The Optional Downgrade
HighCallingBlogs' The Power of Story