Every year since 1987 my city, Austin, Texas, has hosted an event called South by Southwest (SXSW). It’s a ten-day film festival, technology conference, and music festival, and is considered a breeding ground for innovation and new talent. This year there were over 2,000 official performers and bands playing in over 100 venues. SXSW brings in thousands of guests who buy badges to the official events, and thousands more who are here to enjoy all the unofficial “pop-up” events.
Since Christian Science is cutting-edge as far as spirituality and health-care innovation goes, I’ve always thought Christian Scientists should have a voice at SXSW. So I was delighted to be invited to join a group of church members who were discussing the possibility of flying in Christian Science musicians who would perform as well as share Christian Science at the event.
As we talked, I thought a lot about Jesus’ example. I’ve always loved how he spoke to the people in a way they could understand. When he was speaking to farmers, he spoke of seedtime and harvest. When he spoke to fishermen, he spoke of casting their nets on the right side and about being fishers of men.
