A Little Bit Wicked

I got Kristin Chenoweth’s memoir as a Christmas present. I adore her. She’s so cute and funny and when she opens her mouth to sing, you wonder where it came from. I've worn out my copy of the Wicked soundtrack which featured her in the role of Galinda. And I developed a new fondness for her when I found Pushing Daisies on Netflix. She is just so cute.

It was interesting to read her story. She was adopted as a baby and raised in Oklahoma with the number one goal in her mind, always, of being on Broadway. I was surprised, though, to learn that she earned her MA in Opera.

In every chapter, every page, there were references to stories from the Bible or from her childhood in the church.

One particular story that really jumped out at me was from when Kristin recorded a CD of hymns and spiritual songs that had been meaningful to her over the course of her life. As a result the Women of Faith Conference invited her onto their tour and the 700 Club had her on their show. Because of Kristin’s Broadway roots, her following in the homosexual community was huge. As soon as she went on the 700 Club, those fans would no longer stand by her. And after, when she spoke out for her gay fans (and her longtime best friend who is also gay), Women of Faith cancelled the rest of her tour.

The idea of being completely cut off from both of the groups that you resonate with both really resonated with me. It reminded me of my time at CCU when I had a friend who was told that she couldn’t swear on her blog and be in ministry simultaneously. It reminded me of a time in my family’s past where we were completely abandoned by a church “family.” And most of all, it reminded me of the pain that Jesus suffered as he was mocked and beaten and crucified – his followers and friends standing by, denying him.

In a lot of ways, I felt strengthened in my faith through reading Kristin’s story. I was inspired that though her faith may not be “right” by Women of Faith or 700 Club standards, she is still out in the world everyday living a life for Christ the best way that she can. I feel like sometimes it’s harder to live your true faith than it is to live by the standards set forth by a television program or a conference. The shows and the conferences have their check boxes: do this, this and this; stay away from this, this, and this. But where does that leave our humanity?

Followers of Jesus are flawed people. Often it’s been speculated that the thorn in Paul’s side was homosexuality. Matthew was a tax collector. Judas betrayed Him for cash. Peter denied Him. Prostitution, murder, drunkenness… the list goes on. At one point, Kristin shared a story of a talk that she had had with her grandmother in which Kristin had asked if being gay was a sin. Her grandmother replied that she couldn’t say for sure and she figured that she had better love them just like all the rest.

Jesus wasn’t able to check boxes. The only formula he had was that we should love God with all our hearts and love man as we love ourselves. Simple. No checking.

I’m not saying that Kristin is the perfect example of a Christian. But, neither am I. Neither are you. We can only try. That’s all I really want to do anyway.