October 28, 2015. Eureka Springs, AR. Roll with the Punches

The Great Passion Play is a unique ministry, yet not all that different from a company with different departments producing different products for their clients. We do not have performances every day, yet we are always performing because people come to see The Christ of the Ozarks statue every day, visit the gift shop and Bible Museum every day but Sunday, and are always wanting to see the amphitheater where the play is performed.
While we may not be a Holy Land costumed presenter, we must always be ready to explain the various venues and be ready to guide a curious visitor through the Tabernacle or even take them on a golf cart through the entire venue and give them a taste of what they would see and hear on a performance day. When we arrive on the set for the play, we must be ready to play a part we haven't played before, or coach a person in a role they have never played before, or sometimes have a visitor sitting next to you as James the Lesser at The Last Supper. It's always fun to come to the next scene and realize that tonight's Barabbas was yesterday's Christ-figure, or that the three people on the crosses at Calvary are all people who have played the Christ-figure at one time or another. It's a lot different from most theatrical presentations where there is a set cast of characters, a printed Playbill with the characters listed and very little deviation from night to night. Here we must be flexible, prepared to change at a moment's notice, realize we are "professionals" playing before a paying audience and committed to presenting a first-rate product.
Yet, with all the "mayhem" there is a calm which seems to prevail. When something doesn't work exactly as planned, it still works, missing props are done without, and the "show goes on". It is a wonderful message we are delivering and even when an element or two, or three, or...........doesn't work just right, we roll with the punches, do the best we can with what we have, and trust God for the result. What a blessed adventure we are on. Only two more performance days for the season, then we "wrap" and look forward to what God has in store for us for TGPP-2016.

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