We, at Faith21, want everything that we do to be focused on Living in the 5th Act.  For an explanation of what this means, please read on:

"I suggest that stories in general, and certainly the biblical story, has a shape and a goal that must be observed and to which appropriate response must be made.  But what might this appropriate response look like? ... Suppose there exists a Shakespeare play whose fifth act had been lost.  The first four acts provide, let us suppose, such a wealth of characterization, such a crescendo of excitement within the plot, that it is generally agreed that the play ought to be staged.  Nevertheless, it is felt inappropriate actually to write a fifth act once and for all: it would freeze the play into one form, and commit Shakespeare as it were to being prospectively responsible for work not in fact his own.  Better, it might be felt, to give the key parts to highly trained, sensitive and experienced Shakespearian actors, who would immerse themselves in the first four acts, and in the language and culture of Shakespeare and his time, and who would then be told to work out a fifth act for themselves.

Consider the result.  The first four acts, existing as they did, would be the undoubted 'authority' for the task in hand.  That is, anyone could properly object to the new improvisation on the grounds that this or that character was now behaving inconsistently, or that this or that sub-plot or theme, adumbrated earlier, had not reached its proper resolution.  This 'authority' of the first four acts would not consist in an implicit command that the actors should repeat the earlier pans of the play over and over again.  It would consist in the fact of an as yet unfinished drama, which contained its own impetus, its own forward movement, which demanded to be concluded in the proper manner but which required of the actors a responsible entering in to the story as it stood, in order first to understand how the threads could appropriately be drawn together, and then to put that understanding into effect by speaking and acting with both innovation and consistency."

(From How Can the Bible be Authoratative? by N.T. Wright, read the complete article here.)

To help us, and you, live in the 5th Act, we can help in three ways:

1. Teaching Articles

In order to Live in the 5th Act we need to know the first four acts of the story.  We must understand the characters and events that brought us to the present.  If not, we run the risk of going off on our own script.  Let's get to know the author of the story!

2. Inspirational Articles

We cannot Live in the 5th Act on our own.  We must surround ourselves with people encouraging our every move, pushing us when we need it and crying with us when we make mistakes. The 5th Act is not a monologue, we're in this story together.

3. Information for Taking Action

Living in the 5th Act means taking action in your own life, and in your own way, to move God's story along.  We don't know exactly what we should do, but we have a pretty good idea of what is messed up and needs our help!

Come along with us as we figure out the next steps in the drama/comedy/action adventure God has written!