We're back!! Here's some thoughts to kick off our second season...
Stephen's new fave show Multi Level Marketing Pedro the Lion Don't be lukewarm Let go and lead worship!
FULL Episode Transcript:
Hi.
Thanks for having me in your feed.
I’m Stephen Toon, I’m a worship leader, a songwriter, a husband, a dad, a son, a brother, and all the things a guy can be.
I disappeared on ya for a few months. Our last episode was so good, that I suppose it naturally became the Season finale. The problem is, I went off the grid on you, and forgot to tell you what’s next.
But hey, you’re here, I’m here, and this is what’s next. Season 2 of the Worship Leader Life dot com Podcast. Stay with us, we’ll be right back.
(INTRO MUSIC)
I just discovered my new favourite series, it’s called “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” and it stars Kirsten Dunst, Mel Rodriguez, two actors that I absolutely love to watch (Mel is from Better Call Saul and Last Man on Earth - great shows, amazing work by him) and On Becoming has many more great actors,
including Théodore Pellerin, who I recognize but I don’t think I have seen his work before – he’s amazing in this – and another old fave, Julie Benz who played Darla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer…OK, I’m getting too detailed here, nerding out on one of my most beloved topics, the actors who make the magic on film/tv and stage.
So this show, “On Becoming a God in Central Florida”, is all about a Multi Level Marketing cult and how it seems to be the glue that holds this community of people together, many of them are greed driven narcissists, like vampires, sucking dry their “downline” as they call it, and bowing at the feet of their “Upline”, the higher-ups in the organization.
BUT!!
Among these blood sucking members are some good and wholesome characters. Some of them are in this to make a living, or at least supplement it, some to get rich quick, and some of them are in it because it’s community, a “place” of acceptance and excitement and all the warm and fuzzies we all love so much.
Now, I am only a few episodes in, but from what I can tell, we are basically watching lives unfold in the midst of this race to make it rich. We see how the culture of this community is able to support you in your journey, or very quickly become the scapegoat to blame when things go horribly wrong.
And hey, let’s be honest, not necessarily a scapegoat, but maybe the Organization is truly evil and needs to take responsibility for some of the mess.
Not a full on spoiler alert, but skip ahead if you don’t want to hear more about the show.
The main character, played by Dunst, is really in a balancing act of hating the MLM culture AND embracing it. In the first few episodes it seems that she is discovering a way to take the good and use or redeem the bad to help her get ahead.
There are some whose lives have been ruined by the company and its’ founder, and others who won’t stop spewing the pitch of health, wealth and freedom, all in his name. Dunst’s character, Krystal Stubbs, has a knack for making herself useful and almost indispensable, while quietly keeping the upper hand over her superiors.
From the outside, she’s a firm believer in the MLM (called FAM) and a devoted follower of its methods, products and principles. On the inside she’s simply a person trying to survive in this challenging world. A single mom with a mortgage and a crap job, she does get down and discouraged at times, but ALWAYS finds a way to spin her situations, turning them into a step up instead of a break-down.
Can you see why this has me hooked? Probably the same reason shows like Buffy, Lodge 49 and Better Call Saul keep me watching. Regular people with huge battles to fight (like all of us!). Normal people with quirks and issues, gifts and talents, who get enmeshed and entwined in their community and vocation, all the while trying to make a good go of it. The decisions they make sometimes have terrible consequences. The allegiances they create can oft be with shady characters or outright evil villains.
But, at the end of the day, err, the end of the episode, season, series, they almost always learn that the only thing worth living or dying for, is love. And love, not just the feeling or experience of it, but the giving kind of love. Submitting to others, caring for others, putting yourself last, which ultimately gets you first in a way.
OK, so now that I’ve revealed one of my secret inspiration wells, let’s get to the point. These stories that are woven all through human history, whether as embellished historical accounts or myth shared orally, the same stories that are all over film and tv and literature, including our very own Holy Bible, they have common threads.
Name the character Krystal, or name her Wonder Woman…Optimus Prime, Leia Organa, Forrest Gump, Kim Wexler or Hercules, the deep and quite true narrative runs through them all. Yes, in obvious and outspoken ways, and in subtle hidden ways, but it’s almost always there. Themes of Love, loss, surrender, martyrdom, good triumphing over evil, adventure, death and resurrection, these are present, and not just in these stories, but in our day to day lives.
In the “…Becoming a God in Central Florida” show, we see firsthand how these themes and experiences are woven in and around community. We see how one group of people have something that others end up wanting. Really though, the “Haves” are looking outside to recruit others, because they are actually Have-Nots. The potential recruits HAVE something that they need: cashola and the time and energy to go out and find more.
If you play your cards right, you will get to be a HAVE while spreading the good news of the MLM, but most people in the community are Have-Nots, hungry for more recruits because they need them just to eek out an existence. I hope didn’t sound too confusing.
Put simply – the promise is wealth, happiness and freedom, but the reality is, you gotta work your butt off and feed the machine daily if you want that wealth and so-called freedom, and Hey, Happiness comes to those who make it, so don’t let anyone fool ya, the grass may be greener on the other side, but guess how they got it to grow?
And let’s not miss the fact that the Multi Level Marketing company has it’s own language, music, methods of motivation, branding, and literature, as well as figureheads to really drive home the structure and hierarchy of it all.
Joining this group is like a religious experience, a spiritual awakening. Real spoiler alert here…
…but just listen to what Krystal’s friend Ernie says to her when he decides to join. He has just been to an event with a bunch of FAM members, and he had his son Harold with him:
“I don’t know much about FAM, okay? But I do know how I felt when I was in there. I felt surrounded. Surrounded by LOVE and positivity. By family, like a warm blanket. That’s what I’ve been missing. That’s what Harold needs. I want in. I wanna be part of the FAM.”
Now the look on Krystal’s face is very subtle, but for those who know what she knows about the cult-like organization, we see it as hesitation and regret. Her friend is so excited to join, and she’s been working on him for months, but now she knows, it might not be as good for him as he thinks.
This reminds me of listening to David Bazan’s albums over the years, under his band/artist moniker Pedro the Lion and his own name, he documented his years long journey as a Christian who slowly realized that he did not agree with the behaviour and beliefs of many in the fold, and eventually declared that he had left the church and no longer wants to be known as Christian. He’s not mean or spiteful, he’s mostly very thoughtful and honest about his observations of what he saw and experienced in the church over his lifetime. He saw some great values and philosophies, but he also saw a ton of hypocrisy, legalism, bigotry, abuse and all the other things that go along with being in a human organization. The problem though, is that our origin is in a God and man who taught selfless love, peace and non-violence, obedience and respect to God and others, He taught us to love our enemies, to take care of each other, especially those who are poor, marginalized, alone and needing community. What David and many others see active in the church are values and practice that are contrary to Jesus’ teachings. Money and popularity and power and self promotion often win our over the merciful, just and humble way of life that Christ taught.
Now I’m not pretending to know David Bazan or where he’s at with any of this now, but his albums told a story of a kid who experiences a gracious and loving God, and a selfish and sinful church at the same time. So here’s Krystal, the hero of “On Becoming a God in Central Florida”, at least in these first few episodes, and she’s preaching and offering proverbial solid gold to people, knowing full well that it’s probably only gold plated. If she let’s Ernie in, will he continue to feel the love and acceptance and joy of the FAM? Add to that the fact that he’s already an amazing guy. Super selfless, super reliable and responsible, and a great friend. If she welcomes him into the fold, will that crush him? Will it tarnish this saint?
I’ve seen many a saint in the church experience a bit of tarnishing. Sadly, it seems to be an expected occurrence. The Senior Pastor caught with his hand in the Offering plate, the Admin Pastor with child porn on his laptop, the high up leader of a movement who is found out to be a sex addict who’s taking advantage of his vulnerable employees, most of them survivors of sexual abuse. I guess he figured they were already victims, an easy target for his grooming and eventual attack.
So why am I focusing on this in an episode of Worship Leader Life?? Because it’s here in our faces every day. It’s in our churches, it’s in our schools, it’s in our own lives – the games we play or we find others playing on us. Games rooted in our emotional problems and scars, games we create to try to cope with adult life. You got bills? You got a wife who’s unhappy with your failings? you got a husband who never comes home? You have little mouths to feed and rent, utilities and grocery bills to pay? And you have a job to contend with??? It’s no wonder our lives play out like a TV show. And it’s no wonder it’s both a relief AND a battle to get up and lead worship on Sunday morning.
When you get up to lead worship, are you offering the Ernie’s out there a cup of cold water? A hot and soothing bath? Or just some more lukewarm liquid to placate them and help them cope with another week of all the bullshit?
Are you inviting your friends, family, coworkers, neighbours, your church community, into a loving, caring, merciful and just community? Or just another Multi-Level Marketing Organization, filled with vampires trying to feed of each other, just enough to get ahead, but not so much that you bleed each other dry.
This is really just a reminder. A call, not to arms really, but to submission.
Let go.
Stop trying to create a happy sappy sing song time on Sunday mornings.
Let your guard down and spend some time with the Father who loves you, and He loves all the vampires, bullies and Ernie’s too. In fact, He’s more than a Father. He’s your Mother, She’s your Spirit, He’s your shield, She’s your sustenance, He’s your wise old sage, She’s your Go-To best friend and confidante, and guess what else? God likes to manifest all of this in His children. Yes, He will come to you in the quiet place, in the prayer closet, and touch you, heal you and direct you in ways that only your Creator can. But He also shows up in your brothers and sisters, washing your feet, binding your wounds, feeding your hunger, quenching your thirst.
You know the parable of the Hot, cold and lukewarm water? Often mis preached about, Jesus was teaching us that to be Hot was good - think of a hot tub or a good soothing bath after a long hard week. And a cup of cold water?? Even better! It cools you down after a hot day in the sun, and hey, you can’t survive without the stuff. But Lukewarm water in either of these situations? Well, that would be either uncomfortable or just gross. Your people, if YOU are lukewarm, and if your church community is lukewarm, are gonna get outta that bathtub and spit out that warm water.
This Sunday, or Wednesday, or whatever day or night you might be leading Worship, or just worshiping our Lord, drink from his cup of refreshing water, and then pass it on to your sisters and brothers. Maybe reserve an extra cup or two for the bigots, the power hungry, the selfish, the addicts, the emotionally needy, the criminals, anyone who you think might need a little extra goodness to drive out the bad.
God knows I need it. I bet you do too.
The Outro song is No One Can Love Like You from Stephen’s album, Exalted Beloved