Living Outloud: When You Feel Thrown off Script

Enjoyed this episode? Find the audiobook (or physical copies) of Mike's book, Thrown off Script, on Amazon.

We connect Luke 8 to real life by exploring how Jesus handles constant interruptions without losing compassion, clarity, or purpose. I share an excerpt from my audiobook Thrown Off Script and translate it into simple moves we can practice when plans fall apart.
• why Luke 8 shows Jesus living interrupted
• how improv trains us to respond when life feels unscripted
• the storm as a faith check not a schedule problem
• addressing root causes instead of visible symptoms
• setting the pace when other people panic
• telling the truth when circumstances look final
• taking action with what we already have
• shifting from “interruption” to compassion opportunity

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Transcript

Welcome And The Week’s Focus

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Hey, welcome back to the Out Loud Bible Podcast. This is Mike. And today, for Living Out Loud, here on this weekly episode of Living Out Loud of the Out Loud Bible Podcast, we always take a look at something that we read earlier in the week and just go a little bit deeper into that to figure out what we can actually do about this. How can we take what we read and hear in the Bible and have it change our lives, change our hearts, and actually do something about it? When we were reading Luke chapter eight earlier this week, I had mentioned that it's one of my favorite sections of the New Testament. And it even provides the base for a book that I wrote several years ago called Thrown Off Script.

Improv Lessons For Real Life

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Um, you may not know if you've if you've been with me on this podcast for a while, I've brought it up before. But uh prior to COVID, my full-time job was to work in uh improv comedy ministry called 321 Improv. And we still travel and go do shows every once in a while now, but it's not the full-time ministry that it was prior to COVID. And after a few years of doing this ministry of improv comedy full-time, I really got to recognize a lot of comparisons, a lot of parallels between what makes improv work on stage. Again, unscripted, you don't know what's gonna happen, you don't know what the suggestions are gonna be that, and you don't know what your scene is gonna be about, and you don't know what you're gonna say and do. How does that work on stage? And how can we take what we learn from that and apply it to the times where in our life we feel like we're just off script, like interruptions come up and things happen that we weren't expecting, and now we are trying to scramble to figure out how to make the most with what we have and we feel thrown off. And so I put all of these lessons in one book, lessons I had learned and practiced in improv and applied them to the unexpected situations in life. And it's all grounded. The more I researched and more I read about what the Bible had to say, I see that, oh wow, Jesus lived this out. Jesus was interrupted constantly, as we saw in Luke chapter 8. He just got off a boat and a man came up to him, and he was going to help that man when a woman touched him, and he was talking to her when more visitors came up and said something about the previous situation. He was interrupted all the time. And if he can be interrupted yet not thrown off and frantic and lose his cool, then we can too. Not because we can be Jesus, but because he gave us an example to follow. So I was all set to publish this book and to set up some dates to be able to go speak about it and share this book and this uh really important information with a bunch of people. I was like, oh, this is gonna be the next phase of my life. And then COVID happened. And the day that this book was supposed to be released, its official launch date, instead of being

When COVID Made It Personal

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out and celebrating the launch of the book, I had an appointment with the unemployment agency. And sure enough, that's when I realized, oh no, I don't get to just talk about being thrown off script. I actually have to live this out. Multiple times over the past few years, I've had to go back into what God taught me through this book and uh take a little bit of my own medicine. But there are some really great and important, valuable lessons from this book as it's rooted in the Bible and the examples of Jesus. And so, since we were talking about Luke chapter 8 and reading Luke chapter 8 earlier this week, I wanted to take this Living Out Loud episode to share with you the actual chapter from the audiobook version of Thrown Off Script. I hope this discussion of this topic challenges you and encourages you and is as valuable to you as it's been to me over the years. And so I'm happy to share this with you. If you'd like to get your own version of the audiobook, the whole audiobook, or a copy of the physical book, I'll I'll provide a link in the episode description of this podcast episode. You can find it, or check out our website, outloudbible.com, or search on Amazon. Whatever is easier for you, we'll make that available to you as well. So this is throwing off script, turn interruptions into opportunities, and thrive in the unexpected. Chapter 2, a ministry of interruptions. I hope you enjoy it.

A Ministry Of Interruptions Begins

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Imagine you're in a conference room and you're giving an important presentation on, say, the avocado industry. The place is packed. Not only are the 12 leather seats around the table occupied, but people are standing around the perimeter of the room at times two or three bodies deep. It's midsummer, and the air conditioning's been fluky lately, so people are tugging at their ties, fanning their faces with their papers, and shifting their weight uncomfortably. Despite this, you remain focused. You're casting vision, your charts and graphs show growth, your list of avocados and avocado don'ts is received with genuine chuckles until what's that? Y you hear some unusual clanging sounds coming from the ceiling. Somebody needs to call the air conditioning guy again. You continue speaking. Bits of foam and insulation fall like snow onto your nose. The drop-down ceiling tiles begin to sway until the one above your head cracks in two and a lunchbox full of are those avocados? is lowered into the room right in front of you. Everyone in the room gasps. Is this part of the presentation? What's more, two colleagues poke their heads through the hole in the ceiling, shouting, hey, it's Rod and Terry from accounting. We tried calling, but the receptionist said you were busy. We packed these avocados as snacks, but we think they're diseased. Can you check on them for us? Crazy, right? Talk about an unexpected interruption. Believe it or not, Jesus found himself in this exact situation. Except it was nearly two thousand years ago, and instead of a presentation, Jesus was teaching about God's kingdom. Instead of a conference room with a drop-down ceiling, it was a single-story abode with a flat plaster roof, and instead of a lunchbox full of avocados, it was a paralyzed man. Rod and Terry were the man's friends, and not from accounting, but they could have been named Rod and Terry, we can't prove they weren't. Otherwise, yeah, yeah, it was the same thing. Check out Luke 5, 17 through 19. And when you look at the accounts of Jesus' life on earth, it seems like interruptions happened more often than not. In fact, his ministry is practically made of one disruption after the next. Walk with me through a couple chapters of the book of Luke, and I'll show you what I mean. Jesus, the relationship builder. After a long day of teaching, Jesus gathered his closest friends and said, Hey, let's cross to the other side of the lake. Now, this alone may have put his disciples a bit

Storms Reveal Where Faith Is

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on edge. On the other side of the lake was the Garosene region. It was home to non-Jews, and a devout Jew would not risk associating with the other side for fear of being unclean. But Jesus was tired, and that's what he wanted to do, so his friends obliged. Regardless of what awaited them on the other side, the trip itself offered something Jesus desired. Sleep. He had celebrity status at this point. Crowds followed him wherever he went. When he tried to find an isolated place to rest, hordes of people went searching for him until they found him. So for Jesus, what was the best way to avoid the first century paparazzi? Hop into a boat with some friends and retreat to the middle of the lake. His friends handled the sails, but as Jesus settled in for a nap, a storm settled right on top of them. A bad one, even for experienced fishermen who grew up on the lake. The storm was a major, life-threatening interruption for the disciples. Assuming the mission to the other side was already questionable in their minds, the storm must have felt like confirmation they made the wrong decision. Agonizer disciples wish they had never left the shore or had spoken up sooner. I knew this was a bad idea. Arguer disciples looked around for Jesus. Where is he? Why isn't he helping us get out of this? They looked over and found him asleep on a cushion. I can picture them shaking him out of his sleep. Don't you care that we're gonna drown? Jesus did, in fact, care, but they weren't going to drown. Even though the storm instigated this whole turn of events, it was not the core issue. What was the core issue? The disciples' lack of faith. They were scared and struggling, and Jesus saw through the circumstances and focused on the people involved. The storm didn't interrupt Jesus. His disciples did. Jesus took a moment to calm the storm, not for his own sake, but for his disciples. With the storm out of the way, Jesus' friends were in a position to listen. Jesus asked poignantly, where is your faith? Understand, the strength of the disciples' faith depended on how much they trusted who Jesus was, who he said he was. They couldn't control the storm, but they could control their belief. Jesus was more concerned with their relationship than the circumstances, so that became the focus when interruptions arose. Jesus was a relationship builder. Jesus, the problem solver. The journey was completed on calm seas, and the men arrived in the Garrison region. Now remember, the disciples were already nervous about the other side

Fix The Cause Not Symptoms

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of the lake. The Jews believed those residents were unholy, unsociable, unclean weirdos. Literally, as Jesus was climbing out of the boat, who should interrupt their arrival other than a demon-possessed, unholy, homeless and naked, unsociable, man, who lived in the graveyard, unclean, howled and cut himself with stones. Weirdo. Have you ever arrived at work, a party, church, a reunion, wherever? And no sooner do you finish thinking, oh please don't let him be here, please don't let him see me, than you are greeted by that guy. At the dadgum door? You can almost feel the avoider disciples rolling their eyes and scurrying to get back in the boat as this abomination of a man approached them. Uh let Jesus handle this one. Well, that's exactly what he did. I don't need to go into all the details here. You can read the account for yourself. Jesus cast out the demon, which turned out to be thousands of demons. Pigs were involved, they ran off a cliff, it was a whole big thing. Here's the point. The man had a big problem, and it was not that he was homeless, naked, lived in a graveyard, howled, and cut himself. It was that demons tormented him. The other things were simply the obvious visual symptoms. Locals tried to restrain this guy with chains and shackles, but every time the demonic man overpowered them, broke the bonds holding him, and ran off into the wilderness. Jesus cut right to the cause and addressed the man's real problem. With a word, the demons fled. Then Jesus could properly tend to the remaining symptoms. When the people from the town came over to check out what all the commotion was about, Luke says they found the man sitting at Jesus' feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane. Apparently, Jesus and his friends shared their clothing with him. Jesus then instructed him, go back to your family and tell them everything God has done for you. Jesus exercised the man's demons, no longer unholy. He clothed the man and reconciled his relationship with his family, no longer unsociable. He reinstated him into society, no longer unclean, and restored the man's sanity, no longer a weirdo. Handyman no, if a leak is causing water damage to the drywall, the first step is to not replace the drywall. Mechanics no, filling a punctured tire with air won't ultimately do any good until the hole is patched. Jesus recognized repairing symptoms would not do any lasting good until he fixed the cause. Jesus was a problem solver. Jesus, the paceetter. Apparently the residents of the Garrison region were a bit freaked out by the cliff diving demon pig episode, so they begged Jesus to leave. He and the

Setting Pace When Panic Hits

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disciples sailed back across the lake, much to the relief of the disciples, I'm sure, where they found a huge crowd waiting for them on the shore, much to their dismay. Have you ever returned home after a long day of work to find your household in need of well, you? The toilets clogged, a lasagna's burning in the oven, someone is crying, spouse or child or both. And it's clear this is not going to be the haven you hoped it would be. Your day is not yet done. Well, neither was Jesus's. His feet barely touched land before a man named Gyrus fell at them. Gyrus's only daughter was on her deathbed, and Gyrus begged Jesus to come to his house to heal her. In the disciples' mind, this was an emergency. I mean, time was running out. They took on Gyrus's panic as their own, and I picture Peter as a big physical guy leading the pack and elbowing his way through the crowd. Brothers James and John living up to their nickname, Sons of Thunder, were probably playing the first century equivalent of an ambulance and shouting, Make way, healer coming through, or wee. But Jesus did not let himself get caught up in the rush of the moment. Simply because someone approached him with their emergency did not make it his emergency. As disciples pressed through the crowd, the crowd continued to press against Jesus. People surrounded him. But Jesus stopped and focused on only one. Who touched me? He asked. Imagine the baffled look on the faces of the disciples. Jesus was being touched by practically everybody around him. Peter even said, Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you. Jairus, I'm sure, was panicking. What's the hold up? My daughter's dying. But because Jesus was controlling his own pace, it allowed him to be able to pause and address another interruption. That's right, even Jesus' interruptions were interrupted. And this time it was by a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. This meant she was considered to be unclean by Jewish law. She believed if she could at least touch Jesus' robe as he walked by, it would be enough to heal her, and she could slip away again unnoticed. Well, she was right about one thing. A simple touch was enough. She was healed instantly. But slip away unnoticed? Not so much. When Jesus stopped and brought attention to the fact he was touched, she realized she couldn't remain anonymous, so she spoke up. Luke wrote, The whole crowd heard her, explain why she had touched him, and that she had been immediately healed. Did you catch that? The whole crowd heard her? The same crowd that only minutes earlier was jostling and pressing up against Jesus, trying to get his attention. The pace of the disciples and the crowd slowed to match Jesus. He helped them arrive at a position where they could begin to listen. Jesus was a pace setter. Jesus, the truth teller. Check out the transition here in verse 49. While he was still speaking to her, so for those of you keeping score at home, this is an interruption of an interruption of an interruption. What happened? It didn't look good. Someone from Gyrus's house came and found him and reported, sadly, Gyrus' daughter died. And he shouldn't trouble Jesus anymore. But Jesus wasn't troubled, and he encouraged Gyrus not to worry either. Don't be afraid, just have faith, and she'll be healed. Wait, healed? You heard the messenger, right? Like she died. She's literally dead. Jesus arrived at the house to find it filled with family and friends all weeping. Agonizer disciples were probably thinking, Ugh, if we hadn't stopped to deal with that bleeding lady, we would have made it. If we had just run a little faster, Jesus would have been here in time. But Jesus didn't acknowledge any of it. Instead, he focused on what was true. He said, Stop the weeping. She's not dead. She's only asleep. Okay, it w was true that she died. Everyone there could confirm that, but they didn't have the complete picture. What was really true was her death was not final, and Jesus could bring her back from the dead. He could and he would. Jesus told the girl to get up, and to everyone's amazement, she did. Jesus' response was based on what he knew to be true, not what could be true, not what he wished was true, not what appeared to be true, what he knew to be true. Jesus was a truth teller. Of course, Jesus was interrupted countless other times, for example, while he was at dinner, having a conversation, praying, teaching, visiting a friend, resting, sleep deprived, at a wedding, and grieving, to name a few. In fact, I'd like to zoom in on that last one in the book of Matthew to make some final points and lay the foundation for the rest of our conversation. Jesus the action taker, Matthew 14, 15 through 19. Jesus had heard some devastating news. His cousin, John the Baptist, was murdered by

Taking Action With What You Have

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the region's ruler. In an attempt to grieve in peace, Jesus withdrew by boat to the middle of the lake. Remember, this seemed to be the most effective way to escape the large crowds. Well, these crowds heard about his retreat, so they gathered on the shore and waited for him to return. And when he did, they wasted no time in asking for his services, and he wasted no time in offering them. As evening set in, Jesus was still healing and teaching. His disciples gauged the atmosphere of the crowd and saw the people were hungry and restless. They suggested Jesus call it a day and send them back to the village, but he had a better idea. They don't need to go away. You give them something to eat. Blank stares. A look over at the crowd of nearly five thousand families. Blank stares back at Jesus. Jesus sent his skeptical disciples to take inventory of how many loaves of bread were nearby. Their report was laughable. Uh five? Five loaves of bread. I don't know then if they were genuinely trying to be helpful or if it was a bit sarcastic, but then they added, and two fish? Here's where many of us would get stuck in this situation. Analyzers would mentally race through the options. Do we send them home? Do we buy food? etc. Arguers, no doubt fueled a bit by their own hunger, would direct their complaints toward those who got them in this position. The crowd for staying too late, the other disciples for not seeing the problem sooner, even Jesus for not sending the crowd away. Agonizers, on the other hand, would feel personally responsible for the lack of dinner, and avoiders would throw their hands up in surrender and let the others figure it out for themselves. Honestly, Jesus could have fed the crowd any number of ways. He had the power, but he chose to use what was already available and make the best of it. Bring them here to me, Jesus said, and thus began one of the most famous miracles in Jesus' ministry. Jesus was an action taker. He took the food he had, broke off bits of bread and fish, and kept breaking off more. He handed the pieces off to the disciples who served the crowd until all five thousand families had their fill. But wait, there's more. Jesus, the all giver. Twelve basketfuls more, to be exact. Not only did every family receive something to eat, they ate and were satisfied, Matthew said. And not only was everyone satisfied, there were leftovers. Do you realize how all in Jesus went on this miracle? It would have been a miracle to satisfy 50 people with the food Jesus started with, but to go beyond and have something for everyone, and then to go beyond even that and give them more than they could eat? That's some high-level commitment to the task. Jesus was an all-giver. It shouldn't be surprising, really. Jesus forecasted this total commitment to his mission early on in his ministry. John 3, 38 through 40. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father's will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. It's what healed entire crowds. It's what fed the five thousand. It's what held him to the cross. We've seen Jesus, the master improviser, respond to numerous interruptions by taking on the roles of relationship builder, problem solver, pace setter, truth teller, action taker, and all giver. If we're to be skilled improvisers in this unscripted life, these traits must be true of us. Okay, Mike, I get it, but how? I'm not Jesus. Okay, fair point. Let me answer by pulling out one key detail from that last story. Mark gives us an especially important insight into the mindset of Jesus,

Compassion Turns Disruption Into Purpose

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a mindset we must make our own if we want any success in navigating the unexpected in life. Remember, before Jesus fed the crowd, he had recently come from solitary time on the lake grieving the death of his cousin. Put yourself in Jesus' shoes. Well, sandals. How would you react to seeing a crowd of people wanting your attention? Oh, are you kidding me? Uh not them again. Don't they even care about how I feel? Oh, I'm so exhausted. And nobody would blame you for thinking those things, but check this out. Mark 6, 34. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. How did Jesus deal with interruptions? He didn't view them as interruptions. He considered each interruption an opportunity to show compassion, to love the shepherd, to shepherd. These were not interruptions. Options to his real life. They were his real life. The same is true of you. It's time for a paradigm shift.