The Great British Bake Off is a BBC series that is a must see. I realise that this post will be dated very quickly, as the weeks progress, but the points are still valid I think. It has shown me a number of things:
1. The British art of the Innuendo is most definitely not dead. this weeks episode had them cooking buns - need I say more? The humour - intentional and otherwise - does provide a very light-hearted banter background to the show.
2. Interactively watching TV while being on twitter does make the experience something very different. There is interaction with all sorts of people watching and enjoying the same show. It is a spur to watch them live, as you lose the interactivity if you watch it on record.
3. This year, there is a clear winner - Brendan. If I am honest, I find him a bit boring, because he is so good, so technically talented so perfect. This is nothing about him as a person - I think, from twitter, he is a good laugh. I do not have a problem with him, just that as a baker, I do not find him interesting or exciting. Hugely talented - head and shoulders above the others in terms of talent and ability - and his productions are excellent. If I wanted a centrepiece for a celebration, something that blew people away when they first saw it, and first tasted it, I would use Brendan.
4. I prefer watching Sarah-Jane (who sadly went out this week) and Cathryn. Cat has a stock expression, used pretty much every week, which is "I have no idea what I am doing". Cat throws her strudel dough on the floor - ably assisted, I should point out, by Sarah-Jane, and has hemorrhaging strudels and doughnuts. And yet she produces good bakes every week - she is very talented, because she has made it to the last 5. She has a natural ability, that brings her through, but in the process, she has a lot of fun, and is fantastic entertainment. If I wanted to do an afternoon baking workshop, where people would have fun and produce something edible at the end, I would use Cat.
I think there is something in this for Christianity and worship - no seriously. Sometimes, our theology and worship we trust to the Brendans, and they use their learning and talent to produce something that is carefully nuanced, perfectly structured, and unexciting. Alternatively, we could trust to the Cats of our world. The process would be messy, fraught, involve something ending up on the floor at some point, and the final results will always be in doubt.
I know which one I prefer. I would always rather have a fun time, get involved, get messy and throw the dough on the floor than be presented with something perfect and pristine that hasn't involved me, and doesn't involve me.
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When it comes to worship you'd prefer a Cat to a Brendan (well cats must stick together). So would I.
ReplyDeleteBut it isn't a choice between two. Let me introduce another option - James.
Young and enthusiastic, not the complete package yet, but working towards it. What's more he is willing to take risks, to try something different. It doesn't always work out, sometimes it can be a disaster, but behind the youth and risk taking there is real ability, he is in the final five after all.
Now James is not going to win TGBBO. But his personality style is one I'd go for in a worship leader. YMMV.
James is interesting, and I do like him on GBBO. From a worship perspective, I have met James people, and I struggle with them. The problem is that they are often trying too hard, like James does, and for me that is not helpful.
ReplyDeleteThe think I like about Cat is that she has a good time in the process, and the results are almost incidental. I was trying to express that the process might be more important than the results, and Cat has fun in the process.
If the James types are still making the same mistakes five years on then yes, you're right. If however they learn from their mistakes then they are definitely an asset.
ReplyDeleteThe Cat type enjoy themselves, often they are the only ones enjoying it. The leader is the only one who smiles in action songs for example.
Just to clarify, in terms of actually leading worship, at an event, I think you are probably right. In terms of theologising or working for new places and ideas - the theology aspect - I prefer the Cat approach.
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