Thursday, May 20, 2010

What Would Julia Do?


The world lost a great actress with the recent passing of Dixie Carter, and symbolically, we lost her most memorable character, Julia Sugarbaker from the television show "Designing Women."

I always enjoyed the show, and Netflix has recently reacquainted me with the episodes. I always admired Julia. She was the embodiment of intelligence, style, class, and wit. She managed to combine strongly voiced liberal views with a devout faith. For me, her personal philosophy was the driving element of the show, and her rendition of "How Great Thou Art" is a stirring scene from the show.

But there's also a quote from Suzanne that came to mind when I was thinking about possible links between the show and church. One of Suzanne's role is to drum up business for the decorating business, and in one episode she notes that it isn't easy just to stand on a streetcorner hawking throw pillows. How do we market the church and keep it relevant? What roles do fellowship, stewardship, and outreach play in our mission? How do we balance our daily lives with our church membership? Somehow I always felt that Julia knew the answers to such questions and confidently lived her life to the fullest. May we all be so lucky.

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