10 Things Church Can Learn From Geeks

10. Be prophetic, even if you have to use metaphors.

My first recollection of geeking out about something was Star Trek. Yes, the original series. One of the things I’ve come to love about it was the way it pushed us into new frontiers without bashing us over the head. Story and metaphor softened the blow of moral imperatives for a more fully functioning society based on equality. The further I went into the geek culture the more of this kind prophetic behavior I noticed. I like to think I’m a better “me” because of it. Come to think of it, Jesus told a lot of parables that did the same thing. I read those too. Once again, I like to think I’m a better “me” because of it.

Sure, some of these points overlap and not all of these are perfect correlations. They’re not really meant to be. And sure, in some ways we are comparing reality and make believe, but let’s not pretend like some of our Church practices aren’t human made constructs. Some church people will be offended. Some geeks will be offended. I imagine portions of each will totally disown and disavow me for even thinking these thoughts, but who knows, maybe there was another misquote in the Bible. Maybe it wasn’t the kingdom of God that was at hand, maybe it was the fandom of God.

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