The model in this video, Rico Genest, is a heavily tattooed model and performer (aka Zombie Boy). He underwent a day-long process of dramatic transformation from Zombie Boy into the image you first see.

At IKON one of our staff values is Collaboration. We are working to make sure that nothing is created alone. We’re always working in a team of at least 3 people to create so that we are leveraging our community’s strengths and constantly equipping others to do the work of our community. So, all of our Sunday morning messages, classes, experiences, etc. from idea to finished product are created and edited by a team. Our entire Sunday morning experience from songs to scripture to creative elements are created and developed as a team. All of our curriculum from idea to finished product in our Family Groups are created and developed by a team. We want to be a community that creates together because we believe that our ideas (collectively) are better than your ideas (individually).

While we were on vacation last week, Tracy shared this excerpt with me from from Tina Fey’s new book Bossypants. I found it a great little essay not only for the rules of improvisation, but ultimately rules for better and stronger team collaboration.

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Excerpt from Bossypants by Tina Fey, p. 82-85:
“The first rule of improvisation is AGREE. Always agree and SAY YES. When you’re improvising, this means you are required to agree with whatever your partner has created. So if we’re improvising and I say, “Freeze, I have a gun,” and you say, “That’s not a gun. It’s your finger. You’re pointing your finger at me,” our improvised scene has ground to a halt. But if I say, “Freeze, I have a gun!” and you say, “The gun I gave you for Christmas! You bastard!” then we have started a scene because we have AGREED that my finger is in fact a Christmas gun.

Now, obviously in real life you’re not always going to agree with everything everyone says. But the Rule of Agreement reminds you to “respect what your partner has created” and to at least start from an open-minded place. Start with a YES and see where that takes you.

As an improviser, I always find it jarring when I meet someone in real life whose first answer is no. “No, we can’t do that.”"No, that’s not in the budget.” “No, I will not hold your hand for a dollar.” What kind of way is that to live?

The second rule of improvisation is not only to say yes, but YES, AND. You are supposed to agree and then add something of your own. If I start a scene with “I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,” and you just say, “Yeah…” we’re kind of at a standstill. But if I say, “I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,” and you say “What did you expect? We’re in hell.” Or if I say, “I can’t believe it’s so hot in here” and you say, “Yes, this can’t be good for the wax figures.” Or if I say, “I can’t believe it’s so hot in here,” and you say, “I told you we shouldn’t have crawled into this dogs mouth,” now we’re getting somewhere.

To me YES, AND means don’t be afraid to contribute. It’s your responsibility to contribute. Always make sure you’re adding something to the discussion. Your initiations are worthwhile.

The next rule is MAKE STATEMENTS. This is a positive way of saying, “Don’t ask questions all the time.” If we’re in a scene and I say, “Who are you? Where are we? What are we doing here? What’s in that box?” I’m putting pressure on you to come up with all the answers.

In other words: Whatever the problem, be part of the solution. Don’t just sit around raising questions and pointing out obstacles. We’ve all worked with that person. That person is a drag. It’s usually the same person around the office who says things like “There’s no calories in it if you eat it standing up!” and “I felt menaced when Terry raised her voice.”

MAKE STATEMENTS also applies to us women: Speak in statements instead of apologetic question. No one wants to go to a doctor who says, “I’m going to be your surgeon? I’m here to talk to you about your procedure? I was first in my class at Johns Hopkins, so?” Make statements with your actions and your voice.

Instead of saying “Where are we?” Make a statement like “Here we are in Spain, Dracula.” Okay, “Here we are in Spain, Dracula” may seem like a terrible start to a scene, but this leads us to the best rule:

THERE ARE NO MISTAKES, only opportunities. If I start a scene as what I think is very clearly a cop riding a bicycle, but you think I am a hamster in a hamster wheel, guess what? Now I’m a hamster in a hamster wheel. I’m not going to stop everything to explain that it was really supposed to be a bike. Who knows? Maybe I’ll ned up being a police hamster who’s been on “hamster wheel” duty because I’m “too much of a loose cannon” in the field. In improv there are no mistakes, only beautiful happy accidents. And many of the world’s greatest discoveries have been by accident. I mean, look at the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, or Botox.”

Just something to think about (regarding Osama Bin Laden and the fervor regarding his death) from another perspective…

“If you ignore every single thing Jesus commanded you to do you’re not a Christian, you’re just auditing. You’re not Christ’s followers, you’re just fans.”
Bill Maher

Yeah, I feel the same way.

Poetry is beginning to infuse our society once again with subversive themes and tones that rage against the machine we’ve become so accustomed to. This is one of those pieces that challenge us and call us to think for ourselves instead of swallowing whole what the massive media machine/industry tells us to believe and what we should be thinking about any number of topics.

How much has the church been influenced by this? What things have we allowed to win control of our minds? Makes Romans 12.1-2 seem all the more pertinent for the church to heed and follow through on.

I’ve long been a fan of the raw, authentic, transparent nature of slam poetry but no one has captured my attention more than Anis Mojgani. Recently Soul Pancake did an interview and included a couple of videos of him in action. I highly recommend checking them out and listening to the thoughts of life, spirituality and relationship that run deep within. Below is an excerpt of the interview that Soul Pancake did with Anis on spirituality and religion. Very thought provoking responses…

On spirituality, God, and (gulp) religion…

SP: Is spirituality a trend?
AM: Sometimes I think it is. Our society is weird: It’s a non-secular society that pretends it’s secular and is filled with a people that want the benefits of religion without recognizing religion as being something beneficial. We have all these things that supply us with what we hunger for—new clothes, tasty food, hot kicks, movies, television, music—but there are aspects of our make-up that don’t get fulfilled. We’ve created a society where it’s not even kosher or cool to discuss the emptiness, the unexplainable longing that passes in and out of all our lives. I feel that is connected to the spirit. There are these moments in all of us when we are inexplicably joyous or sorrowful, but we’ve boxed ourselves up so as not to talk about this as freely as we may discuss 30 Rock or Seinfeld.

That’s why spirituality becomes trendy. There is a hunger that many of us have for some divine and spiritual connection, but there is no arena to have that without committing to a religion, which a good number of us hold zero interest for. So what to do? Well, here’s this thing “spirituality.” And it allows me to feed my soul and commune with my spirit without having to deal with the connotation of organized religion.

SP: Chanting, chakras, and chopras aside, what does being “spiritual” really mean?
AM: I believe it to refers to maintaining a connection, a communication, a relationship, with the inner mechanics of the world—the same mechanics that power us.

SP: Where does God play into all of this?
AM: God is the builder of those inner mechanics.

SP:Then why is talking about God so awkward?
AM: Cuz it’s abstract! We want to be right in our thoughts and our beliefs, and for many of us, the thought of discussing that could mean that we are wrong. And that would be bigger than being wrong about a math problem—it’s being wrong about our entire structure of being.

SP: Have you ever had a moment when you felt God?
AM: I was riding a bicycle in Savannah, Ga., and something clicked. Things made sense. The blades of grass and the size of them and how small and how big they are, and it felt like I was in the lap of something bigger than all of this. I started crying—just bawling—and then I started laughing at what a sight I must have been, crying and biking in the middle of the day, and the tears came down even more and the laughs came out even harder, and the whole time, I felt him.

SP: Do we need religion?
AM: We need a new definition of religion. I think ours is outdated? Maybe too small. I need what religion actually is, which is a way to reveal to humanity how to exist as strongly and nobly as we can—and how to maintain that.

SP: What gives ‘religion’ such a bad name?
AM: People.

SP: Would the world be better off without religion?
AM: Based on the results of what we have done in the name of religion, yes. But based on what I feel religion actually is and has the potential to be, no.