As this is my 3rd blog in a row in which the catalyst is an interview, I should probably start with a little-known confession: I love celebrity interviews.

Or, if they aren't bonafied celebrities then at least individuals who are a highly successful in their field... successful enough to be giving an interview.

The reason I like them is that most are incredibly thoughtful & insightful, as well as experienced & weathered (yes, we can all name the exception with ease!). Success and notoriety change you, and though we sometimes see the messiness of that result, it also tends to deepen and teach at an incredibly rapid rate. Anyone who has been a success in their field for any length of time typically has some profound things to say.

So I like celebrity interviews, especially ones that give a picture into how they think and see the world. Fascinating stuff.


...
A couple weeks ago I read James Cameron in Time Magazine's 10 Questions:

Do you have a formula for creating a blockbuster film? —Michael Lawrence, Nashville

I have principles, not a formula. You create interesting characters. You put them in a story that has a number of dilemmas. Once you have the audience on the character's side, you challenge that character. You try to create one or more emotional, epiphanous moments within a film. And you provide great visuals.

For some reason Cameron's response reminded me of the ideas in Donald Miller's insightful book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years*: If you lived your life as a story... would it be compelling? would other people want to read it? would other people be inspired by it & follow your lead?  How would your life change if you rearranged your life so that you were living a truly good story?

Something about the intersection point of Miller and Cameron reminded me that, in addition to our lives being stories, people really are reading them.

People are watching you, observing what you're doing & how you're responding to the situations of your life. People are learning from you. They are learning both what it means to be human, as well as what it is to live well.

Hebrews 11 is a laundry list of those who have gone before us setting an example of what it means to live well in faith. To live well as a human.

Hebrews 12 then starts with the bold words: "Therefore, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us..."

Therefore, in light of the example of those who have gone before us... those who have lived a blockbuster story... those who have taught us what it is to be fully human... let us... live.
well.
full.
alive.
present.
as our true selves.
loving.
gracious.
inspired.
bold.
risking.
creative.
beautiful....

We are surrounded by that cloud of witnesses. And, for others, we are in that cloud of witnesses.  I think I'd like to live with both in mind.


* I should probably mentioned that my experience with Miller's book primarily comes from a sermon I heard him give at Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As I've skimmed the book, it seems to be a pretty good explanation of his entire thoughts, but I wouldn't want to misrepresent myself! or, more importantly, Don M.