S It is non-prescriptive. I remember when my church used this and they had a big group of 85 kids. I was stunned when I walked in. I never thought of it as material for a big group. But when I saw it in use, I began to think of it like that. It can be used for pretty much anything from a single person, even a single unbeliever to a large group. It all depends on how creative the team is. It also depends on how much knowledge you have of the Bible. The more knowledge you have of the Bible, the more you can do with it.
LK Why did you create the resource?
S We live in an age where truth has become relative. Even my child thinks that her truth is true for her and my truth is true for me. There seems to be no truth that everyone can agree on. So it is fluid. If our faith is a very static and solid concept, it means that we are forever disconnected from the people we live with. That cannot be right, that cannot be God. There has to be a way by which you can communicate truth to a people for whom truth is subjective but at the same time do it effectively.
Before, we had someone who had chewed on the information, regurgitated it and then spoon fed it out to those sitting in front. This person said, ‘This is truth’ and then you took it and said, ‘Yes, this is truth’, and in doing so became a mini-me of that person. What we have now are people who want to invest in the meaning of what is being said. By them investing in the meaning of what is being said they own that truth. This is why they say, ‘It is my truth’. That’s what Drink It! is about. It’s about getting people on board, people who become co-investigators of this truth. And by them discovering, or co-discovering the truth with you, they have ownership of that truth and then it becomes theirs.
It’s almost an extension of The Manga Bible. In fact, when we finished The Manga Bible, when I was thinking of what to do next, this is what I was thinking of trying to do.
LK What are your inspirations?
S I get them from all over the place. I get inspiration from music, from science fiction, comic books, films, all sorts of stuff. It’s difficult to pin anything down. I also like Anime or Manga books. I like them because of the way they tell stories. They try to tell the story more by what you see rather than what you read, whereas Westerners try to tell stories using words. There’s nothing wrong with words, but if I have the option I prefer my stories to be told to me by what I can see happening. Manga does that far more effectively than any other medium that I know, which is why they are very cinematic. Their films are also wonderful. The story arc is odd, and the Japanese have a unique story arc so it’s difficult for the average Westerner to get their head around. But, for visual splendour they are unmatched.
LK What are the challenges of working in a CULTURE in which the stories are predominantly about Werewolves and Vampires, WHEN the story you are telling is so different?
S It’s an absolutely wonderful opportunity. The more we don’t look like what they’re doing the better – it just means that we’re going to stand out. This obsession that we have now with vampires and werewolves, I just think it’s fantastic! It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to actually engage with these guys. I feel so grateful that I live in an age where our faith is under scrutiny and so challenged that we are forced to find new ways to voice the gospel. And in doing this we are discovering something about God that we’ve had no clue of. We’ve made certain assumptions about God since Calvin, and that’s 500 years ago.
LK You talk a lot about storylines and how important they are – what do you mean by that?
S All stories boil down to one simple example: it’s boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. And much of our experience is in that middle section of the story where boy loses girl: trying to find a job, trying to pay the mortgage and the bills, trying to go to a good school, that’s the middle ground – boy loses girl. Of course there are other permutations to the story but it’s still the same story thoughout. Another permutation - boy and girl live in a garden, boy and girl lose the garden, boy and girl get the garden back. Of course that story is the story of Adam and Eve. Or a girl lives in garden, the girl loses garden because a dragon comes and burns up everything, a prince from a faraway land comes and restores garden, the girl becomes princess and the prince and princess live happily ever after. That’s the Disney permutation. But all those stories are one story: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. That permutation plays itself throughout everything. We talk about old Israel, new Israel and a new Earth – it’s the same story. King Saul, King David, King Jesus –same story. Israel, Church, new Earth - same story. Whatever way you want to cut it, it’s the same story. It’s the story of life.
