Jonathan Martin

At Renovatus, we talk a lot about building altars, i.e., the First Testament practice of putting down stones to document stories of God’s faithfulness. As we close out 2010, ever popular top ten lists are appearing all over the place, altars that celebrate artistry in film, music, reading, and most everything else. I wanted to put a marker down here, not for human achievement and not simply for the sake of a pleasant stroll down memory lane. This is about testifying to the faithfulness of God, as seen through the people, places and moments he has used. So without further ado, here is my wildly subjective, utterly unscientific and absolutely important list of the 10 defining experiences of Renovatus Church in 2010:

It might seem counter-intuitive to list the 5th year anniversary of The Birth as one of the defining moments for Renovatus in 2010, since The Birth is technically not a Renovatus event. Since its inception, The Birth has operated as an artistic free agent under the vision of its creator Nathan Rouse. It’s lack of formal attachment to any religious institution has allowed its reach to be much more expansive and effective than it would have ever been under the umbrella of any local Church. But Renovatus has always supported The Birth heavily, and all but one member of the 2010 cast is involved with Renovatus directly.

This was a special year for the little play that could, celebrating 5 years of magic created from Frederick Buechner’s 0ver 40-year old sermon (from The Magnificent Defeat)–as it has been able to exegete, amplify and transform the words of it’s now 84 year old author into a fully-realized theatrical experience. As I noted at the 5th anniversary talk-back, it isn’t everyday that someone sits around reading a sermon and decides it could be translated into intoxicating theatrical expression. The Birth has the stamp of the approval of “the Buech” himself (as Nathan and I refer to him with self-aware pretension and even more affection), and this year Nathan even joined the Advisory Board of the Buechner Institute in Bristol, TN (where the Birth was performed for the first time this year).

Nathan and the cast brought me to my knees for the 5th time in as many years with their performance. After a lively talk-back session with the anniversary audience and a spellbinding performance from Sarah DeShields, I walked into the winter evening chill from CAST theater more convinced than ever before that the vision of Renovatus is being fully realized in our city. In their creativity, their courageousness, and their engagement with Charlotte’s larger theater culture…in their just-at-the-brink-of-awkward intimacy with the crowd, The Birth has embodied the vision and spirit of Renovatus perhaps more compellingly than anything I’ve witnessed since we started down this road in 2006. More specifically, it should be said that the fearless, foolish, audacious Nathan Rouse has embodied the vision of Renovatus beyond my capacity to imagine. In its hypnotic simplicity, the Birth has morphed into a sophisticated but emotionally resonant Christmas experience for our city.

As I took those first chilly breaths outside CAST, I was struck by two things wandering into the parking lot: 1, a stronger conviction than ever that the subversive cosmic event called incarnation had already changed the world; and 2, I am more in love with Renovatus than I’ve ever been. Less than a week later, I was standing in the sanctuary on Little Rock Road performing a baby dedication on Christmas Eve, an act so holy on such a night as to both set a fire in my heart and a chill in my bones. We didn’t just celebrate Christmas this year, Christmas happened to us.

For another view on this beautiful production, check out Creative Loafing’s glowing review of the 5th anniversary (which I shared in our Christmas Eve service, another magical night of 2010) show here.