Stuff Learned

For clarification this is Brad DeYoung blogging under Dana's name.

When asked to blog about what I learned on the tour I could say that there really was a lot of personal things that I learned on this tour as well as spiritually. There have been many good and bad times that we went through and have had to work through together. With all of these times I really had to learn patience. I never thought that being on tour would test my patience so much but it did. I had to learn how to take things and not react the way that I wanted to as well as remember that everyone acts differently.

Although my patience was tested, I also took this tour to heart and became a lot closer to the Lord through this. Since we were disciples for the Lord this whole summer, I really took it to heart and grew in my faith. Throughout the tour I have learned to hand more things over to the Lord. I used to just hold a lot of my problems in and try to fix them myself, but when you are on tour and have only my skills and the Lord, I have learned to just hand everything over to Him.

All in all this tour has been a lot of fun and an enjoyable experience. Almost all of the people that we have performed for have taken it with a joyful heart and it really made this tour enjoyable for me. As we said when the tour began, "If one person comes to know the Lord because of the tour, the whole 2 months was well worth it." Thanks.

From Wardrobes to Padlocks and Everything in between...

For clarification, this is Jeremy Burkett posting under Church's name.


For those of us who are not as blog literate as others I add my long-absent thoughts to this page. When asked to post some things that I learned on this tour I sat down and thought. (Thinking....a good place to obtain some thoughts...;-) ) What did I see God doing throughout the summer? What did I see God doing in my own life? What did I feel God revealed to me as his truth? I hope to address these questions in the remainder of this post.
What was God doing over the course of the summer? I truly believe he was changing lives. I saw first-hand and heard stories of lives that were touched, invigorated, renewed, and given over for the first time to our Lord. The message of this production is inherently powerful because it is true. It is God-breathed. The script of this show is taken almost verbatim from the gospel of Matthew. The word of God is so powerful that even if it was presented poorly (which I DO NOT think we did.) it would still have the power to change lives.
What was God doing in my own life? God was most definitely teaching me endurance and patience. These two things often appear together but must never be confused as meaning the same thing. Endurance can only be defined here as the strength to continue day in and day out with a production that demands so much energy and so much focus. It is no secret that one could certainly find themselves totally exhausted on a tour of this intensity. The constant packing and unpacking, performing and traveling demand an amazing amount of physical endurance. God showed me that there was a reason in being perpetually tired, a purpose for the seemingly never ending toil.
Patience, on the other hand, is quite different. In the midst of the work, there needs to be a focus, a dedication to the task at hand. When things are running smoothly, patience gets placed in the background because it is not needed. Once there happens to be a hiccup in the general running of things, our patience is tested, stretched. Patience allows us to deal with changes to our plans. It is a fruit of the spirit because we tend to forget that our plans are not always God's plans and a follower of Christ must possess this attribute in order to more easily recapture what God wants to do with us.
What did God reveal to me as truth? I have thought quite a bit about how God was going to use my work this summer. What if I messed up or did not do something I was supposed to? What would happen if something was done that was totally contrary to God's plan for this trip? I feel the answer can be explained through some of what C. S. Lewis wrote in The Last Battle. As Aslan speaks to the young Calormene prince after Aslan's followers have at last reached Aslan's country, he finds the prince confused. The price seems unable to understand how he was able to enter this wonderful land when his entire life was spent doing his work for Tash (the evil "god" of the series, possessing the likeness and character of Satan). The prince tells Aslan that he had never done any good work in the name of Aslan but dedicated everything to Tash. Alsan explains that all of his life's good deeds were, in fact, not done for Tash. Being, in his very essence, evil, Tash can not comprehend or accept a good deed because it is totally foreign to him. All of the prince's deeds were done unto Aslan. On the other hand, followers of Aslan who did evil under his name were doing it unto Tash for Aslan, being good and pure, cannot except it. It is encouraging to realize that evil, done in the name of Christian fellowship, cannot defile God because it is foreign to him. God can only be glorified by the good that we do. We must not be worried that somehow our failures can diminish the name of God, we can only ask forgiveness for our sin and continue to work with endurance and patience on the tasks that God sets out for us.

-Jeremy Burkett

an education... an adventure...a legacy.

have you ever seen that inspirational photograph of a delicate flower growing in the midst of dry, uncultivated land? i think its tag line says something about perseverance...
there have been so many this summer who have exemplified this picture. it has been seen incalculable times in each cast member. and it has been seen in many of our audiences. and i have been so flooded with thankfulness to see the perseverance of these beauties' faithfulness. there have been some really difficult times of reflection and consequently growth, and i always find myself falling before God, so completely broken and feeling Him pick me up into His arms. He loves me so much. and to KNOW that He loves each person with the same intensity as He loves me makes me bow humbly in such gratefulness.
i have learned so much from every place we have been. everywhere from the hospitality of canada to the overwhelming enthusiasm of jacksonville to the comfort of our very own huntington.
and two things that really impacted me last night as i looked around, thinking about how we're almost done with all of this: GOD is not done with this tour. He will continue to use this faith-filled cast to do His work...and..i want to leave a legacy that is edifying and pleasing to God. each day i have a choice: to live how i want...or to live how God wants.
there are so many other things that i could say about what i have learned. but let's be honest: there are others waiting in line...
so, a couple closing remarks: never underestimate the power of prayer, the power of a hug...or the power of a simple smile. there is a great force of evil against every great force of good. and sometimes it's very hard to find the good. but it is ALWAYS there. just keep searching...
such is life.

Everything I Need to Know I Learned on Tour

This is actually Dan, by the by...

~ Rhubarb is too poisonous to eat straight from the garden, but add a little heat to make it soften and sweeten.
~ We can never attain perfection, so there's no reason to set it as the destination.
~ Always treat others as you would have them treat you.
~ Memory is a faulty, misguiding tool.
~ With great power comes great responsibility.
~ I can sleep anywhere.
~ We should capitalize on second chances and make amends for the initial failures.
~ Judgment is something with which God doesn't need my help.
~ People are always worth it.
~ Attitude is everything.
~ No one stays on a honeymoon forever.
~ Growing old is a choice and not a good one, but it is never based on chronology.
~ Nice is different than good.
~ No one should ever win a Miss Communication pageant.
~ Leadership is nothing more than Servanthood wrapped in the concerns of many people.
~ You can never accurately look at both sides of the coin at the same time.
~ "We'll tell you when you're older" doesn't work when you're already older.
~ We should always protect those with sweet spirits.
~ There truly is nothing new under the sun.
~ Secrets, secrets are not fun; secrets, secrets hurt someone.
~ Ruffled feathers never make a comfortable coat.
~ Friends are family you choose.
~ Book smarts are common and attainable by all.
~ Soup made of one ingredient isn't soup, and it doesn't taste good.
~ We all turn into our parents.
~ If you're only dating, your real self may never emerge. If you're committed, you can't help it.
~ Never think lowly of someone or you'll miss everything.
~ Maturity is best exhibited by those who don't act as if it's a destination.
~ If you think you're in control, you're surely mistaken.
~ Always treat others as you would have them treat you.
~ No one deserves anything but the best I have to offer.
~ An ant may be able to lift 100 times his weight, but he'll be crushed under a rock.
~ Nothing has afflicted me that isn't common to Man.
~ He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.
~ A quiet tongue doesn't lack for an opinion.
~ If birds of a feather can't flock together, what hope is there for the ostrich and the raven?
~ Live grace like you've received it.
~ Always treat others as you would have them treat you.
~ What you don't know can hurt you.
~ Conditional love and respect are neither love nor respect.
~ Forgiveness simply is not if you rescind it in court.
~ Righteousness trumps rightness.
~ A fine line exists between respect and fear.
~ Bridges burned require builders on both sides of the river.
~ Always treat others as you would have them treat you.
~ Love wins.

Let me close with much thanks and praise to those who have put us up and put up with us, housing and feeding, praying and entertaining, watching and encouraging. You're an essential reason for any success we may have had. Shalom!

education from the Tour

so yeah, I've learned several things on this tour. I think the biggest physical one is how to do set up a show, I never realized how musch stuff went into a tour until I was one one. most of my real learning was spiritual though, It is difficult to live with people 24/7 but we managed quite well I think. The grace and patience I learned on tour I hope will stay with me through the next year. there was conflict that came up and learning how to deal with it in a christian manner was something I learned how to do better.
I have been challenged on this trip by other cast members to deepen my walk with God, I have started daily devotionswith the help of Our Daily Bread that was introduced to me by our very own Dan Olson. Overall I've been challenged and I think stepped up to the task of living in community. Also in edification of my brothers and sisters I have been challenged and raised the bar.
Loving people is much harder than Jesus makes it sound but that is what he commanded us to do and when you really love the people around you, problems are a lot smaller.
Thanks for having me on this tour. God has blessed me with some new friends and more knowledge about him.
Blair Bullick aka Blairskallujah

Thank you to all the people who hosted me and who feed me. You allow us to keep sharing the gospel in this unique way. You are the hands of Christ while taking care of us God bless you.

What has Eric learned?

Well... after two months on the road, this tour is finally to a close. I've learned and thought about many things in life during this tour, especially about how God is currently working in me and through me.

So what has God taught me on this tour? The number one thing would be tolerance. As a musician and non-theatre person, I had to deal with a lot of loud, noisy, enthusiastic, and generally crazy theatre people. I'm used to being around people that don't talk all of the time, so being stuck with about 10 other people who don't do that left me kind of left out and in an awkward position. I did, however, come to the realization that that's how these people are. And I can handle that, but to a point. There were many times that I was very stressed with noise, but with the invention of MP3 players and other ways to find peace, I made it through OK.

Another thing I learned was patience. I thought I had enough patience already, but this tour stressed that and increased it. It's a very hard thing to learn, but I think I've gained some more.

Overall, the tour's been fun, but very tiring and sometimes very stressful, too. I think I've learned a lot about God and about myself, so I'm thankful for that. Also, thanks to all of you who've been reading this and going to our shows. We appreciate your audience and we're happy to do it for the glory of God. Good night, and good luck.

Reflections of a summer on the road

Well, folks, tonight was our 51st show of the summer and we only have two left at this point. Kinda crazy. 51 shows...some days it's hard to believe that we're almost done. Other days I roll out of bed and my back feels every one of those days spent on a mini-bus. I love it though. I really do. I've loved spending time again with Noah and Dan and getting to know each of these great guys again. And I will greatly miss my fellow cast members this fall when they return to HU and I don't.

This is now my second summer touring with the Huntington theatre department and I think this changes my perspective a bit. Some different lessons can be learned from touring a second time with a different show and different group of people. As Mike mentioned in a previous post, every night on the road is full of surprises. Problems have arisen that have been unpredictable and sometimes unavoidable...so the ability to improvise is quite vital.

One of the most extreme cases of improvisation occured the night that both Dana and I got ill right before the show and were unable to perform. I know that this was challenging for the cast...but in a way, it was challenging for me as well. I have never missed a performance before for any reason...and in a show like Godspell where each person is on stage for the full two hours of the production, I felt guilty that I was unable to do my part. The cast did a wonderful job of picking up the missing parts of the show on the fly and the audience that night was one of the most enthusiastic and supportive crowds that we have had all summer.

While I hated missing the time with the cast and being able to do the show (which, incidentally, I love to perform), I was grateful to the cast for stepping up and covering the slack...but even more I was reminded that as an individual...I am not absolutely necessary for Christ's message to be shared. Once I got past the initial blow to the ego, I recognized the wonderful blessing that this is. Heaven forbid that the Christ's ability to reach hearts be based on my level of perfection because I am reminded daily of how far from perfect I am. But God is faithful and while there have been many challenges (both on and off the stage), people have continued to be touched and lives changed because of the love and joy of Christ. I may be a very flawed person, but in telling the story of Christ's perfect love, God has touched many hearts.

That's just one of the things I have learned this summer...and I'd love to talk to anyone that's interested, but that's the thought that's on my mind tonight. Thank you to all of you who have been in prayer for the tour this summer. We have relied on it at every step. God bless you all...and good night.

This is actually Noah using Dan's blog since Blogger has been giving me trouble all summer. Enjoy!

This summer has been great for just learning about how different personalities relate to each other. When you spend as much time together as the Godspell crew has over the past few months, you see everyone at their best and worst. You also get to see what you need to work on in your own life when it comes to working as a team or just life in general.

I think one of the biggest faults that plague Christians today is pride. You constantly hear growing up that "Pride commeth before fall." Before this tour I never really thought much of it. "I guess that's true," I would say. But after this tour I've come to find that 99% of problems that arrive with any sort of group striving for the same goal, whether it be a big business, a church, or in this case a touring production of Godspell, come from pride. We are all growing and changing every day. We are not perfect and it is ok to admit when we need to rethink our behavior. The old golden rule also plays a big part in this as well. Treat others as you would want to be treated, not as you think they deserve to be treated.

Something else I was reminded of during this tour is that God can use anything He wants to impact others and bring them closer to Him. There were certainly days that we were not in the best mindset to perform a show. There might have been some bickering among the group, people could be frustrated with something that went wrong, or maybe just didn't feel like performing another show. Despite all this, there was not one show that went by where someone didn't come up to me and say how much the show touched them that night. I just find that amazing. Once again this has been a Noah blog using Dan's user name.

What have you learned??

Over the next few days, the Godspell company will each be posting something that being on this tour has taught them, or something about a way God has spoken to them over the course of the summer. Stay tuned....should be some great reading about God moving in their midst.

Mike