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When I was young, I was enamored with drama. During the Sabbatical leave two years ago, I got a chance to enrich myself through a Diploma program in Theatre Studies.
There is a saying: "Life is like a drama, and drama is real life." The whole year of intensive study which included playwriting, directing, acting, drama education as well as drama critique really gave me deeper insight into human nature. Life is full of conflict and paradox. Study in playwriting gave me training in story telling techniques. (The Bible is full of intricate stories.) Through study in acting, I had a deeper mastery of role analysis, communication styles and the fine control of emotion and body language. All these helped me to be a proficient pastor.
One must play well our roles in daily life before we can act well in a play. Once in class, the mentor pointed out that I was too cautious with the opinions and appreciation from others. I first realized my instinct of laughing had disappeared. I had not simply laughed joyfully for a long time. After that, I deeply reflected on the practice and expectation in my pastoral ministry. I was surprised with the amazing discovery as a result.
Audiences know well that everything on the stage is not real. But a good show can make people cry because it exhibits true feelings through genuine listening and response. "To be a good pastor, one must first live truly as a person."
I started to learn stage performance in October again to continue the exploration of pastoral work. This is a professional certificate course, focusing on "acting". The tutors come from the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and we have our end of course performance in their Black Box. My limitation is stretched as I have to work tightly with young people.
Dialogues and sincere exchanges of life experiences broaden the horizons and understanding of humanity. These are like firewood for my ministry in the university campus and among education practitioners. They also serve as the melting pots for forging deeper pastoral sentiments.
Servant pastor
Rev. Benedict Shum
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