{"id":35411,"date":"2013-06-10T09:24:29","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T15:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/?p=35411"},"modified":"2013-06-10T09:24:29","modified_gmt":"2013-06-10T15:24:29","slug":"rev-is-a-poignant-portrayal-of-the-life-of-the-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/06\/rev-is-a-poignant-portrayal-of-the-life-of-the-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Rev. is a Poignant Portrayal of the Life of the Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

by guest writer Adam Marshall<\/em><\/p>\n

It seems that fictional pastors tend to be cut from one of two molds\u2014often, they are depicted as either narrow-minded zealots (i.e. The Poisonwood Bible\u2019s<\/em> Nathan Price or Bioshock: Infinite\u2019s<\/em> Nathan Hale Comstock) or as paragons of unattainable heavenly virtue (i.e. Chaucer\u2019s Parson). While a few writers such as Marilynne Robinson or Alan Paton have succeeded in creating pastoral characters whose human qualities are as admirable as their spiritual ones, such successes are few and far between.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of the reasons I\u2019m excited about Rev.<\/em>, a British sitcom that is currently between its second and third series across the pond, and is available stateside via Hulu<\/a>. Throughout its thirteen episodes, Rev.<\/em> offers a window into the day-to-day life of Adam Smallbone (Tom Hollander), the bumbling vicar of St. Saviour\u2019s of the Marshes, a struggling London church. While the show\u2019s creators (and, indeed, Adam himself) often seem comfortable treading on the sacred in the name of comedy, at its heart, Rev<\/em>. presents a striking picture of the Church as it is: an untidy community of deeply flawed people who worship a good and forgiving God.<\/p>\n

This tension shapes nearly every relationship between the show\u2019s characters; however, it defines none so much as that between Reverend Smallbone and Colin (Steve Evets), his most loyal parishioner. In many ways, Colin is the sort of person one would be surprised to find in a church: he\u2019s homeless, a heavy drinker, lacks all sense of propriety, and at times even turns to other faiths, such as Rastafarianism and Buddhism<\/a>, for meaning and acceptance. Though his devotion to Adam and St. Savior\u2019s is unquestioned, it often leads him to outrageous acts, such as disguising himself in a burkah in order to catch thieves who have been stealing lead from the church\u2019s roof. Most of the time, Adam finds himself working damage control for Colin\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

And yet, as the series progresses, Adam\u2019s friendship with Colin, growing largely through conversations over shared cigarettes behind the church, paves the way for his participation in the community of faith. For instance, near the beginning of the series, Darren, a charismatic youth preacher, insists that Colin be banned from the church after he misreads the kindness of Pip, a young female attendee, as flirtation. Rather than caving to Darren\u2019s demands, Adam defends Colin\u2019s right to remain a part of the Christian fold:<\/p>\n

Darren: I want that man barred from this church.<\/p>\n

Adam: I won\u2019t do that, Darren. Colin\u2019s been a regular here for fifteen years. Is there no chance you could forgive him?<\/p>\n

Darren: We may well prosecute.<\/p>\n

Adam: \u201c\u2019Lord, how many times am I to forgive my neighbor? As many as seven times?\u2019 \u2018Seventy times seven,\u2019 said the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Darren: [mocking] \u201cSeventy times seven, seventy times seven.\u201d Pip is a vital part of our congregation, yeah?<\/p>\n

Adam: Colin isn\u2019t vital to anybody, Darren. Except God. And if God loves you, Darren, then he loves Colin just as much. Colin\u2019s presence in this church is a blessing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s moments like these that make Rev. <\/em>such a poignant portrait of the life of the Church. When Colin is later baptized near the beginning of Series 2, the viewer shares in the sense of real accomplishment\u2014such a sign of faith has been hard-won, and is all the sweeter for it.<\/p>\n

Like its protagonist and the church to which he ministers, Rev<\/em>. isn\u2019t perfect\u2014in fact, there are times when it\u2019s downright offensive. Nonetheless, I found myself constantly drawn back to the crumbling sanctuary of St. Saviour\u2019s week after week to watch the quiet drama of God\u2019s love unfold. In a way, that\u2019s what makes Rev<\/em>. one of the best gospel stories being told today: its argument is ultimately that the Church is not a country club for the properly religious, but rather a vital source of life for the messy and the outcast.<\/p>\n

Adam B. Marshall is a Ph.D. student at Baylor University, where he studies medieval literature and 17th century metaphysical poetry. In college, he considered a career in full-time ministry, and though he later shifted his emphasis to teaching college English, facilitating conversation between the literary and pastoral worlds remains one of his passions. Because of this, he especially enjoys studying works written by pastors (i.e. the poetry of John Donne or George Herbert) or works that feature clergy members as characters (i.e. Geoffrey Chaucer\u2019s Canterbury Tales or G.K. Chesterton\u2019s Father Brown mysteries). Adam lives in Waco with his wife Brittany and his two cats, Arthur and Guinevere.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by guest writer Adam Marshall It seems that fictional pastors tend to be cut from one of two molds\u2014often, they are depicted as either narrow-minded zealots (i.e. The Poisonwood Bible\u2019s Nathan Price or Bioshock: Infinite\u2019s Nathan Hale Comstock) or as paragons of unattainable heavenly virtue (i.e. Chaucer\u2019s Parson). 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