I love this presentation by J.J. Abrams at TED. J.J. Abrams is the creator of such television programs as Lost and Fringe and he's produced movies like Cloverfield and the new Star Trek. In this video, he talks about how mystery plays such a powerful role in effective storytelling. He talks about a mystery box he purchased years ago and never opened. In fact…the allure of the box is the fact that you don't know what's in it. Once it's opened, it loses it's power.
What about your summer camp program? Is there an element of mystery there? At Shepherd's Fold, we never posted the schedule in a place where the campers could see it. They had no idea what we were doing from one minute to the next. Anticipation would build throughout the day as the campers pondered what the evening's activity would be. And that was just the way we wanted it.
Abrams says that mystery is the catalyst for imagination. I agree. When comfronted with a mystery, the mind will begin to try to fill in the blanks with imagination. That's why radio has always been the "theater of the mind." You can do so much more on radio than you can on television.
Abrams says something else that makes a lot of sense to me. Mystery is more important than knowledge. I love that. Knowledge will always be finite. But mystery is the power of what can be. Mystery is infinite. We serve a mysterious God. And I'm glad for that. I don't want a god I can figure out. He wouldn't be God if I knew what He was going to do in every situation.
I wrote back in February that "let me tell you a story" were the most powerful words ever. Like the mystery box, those words are pregnant with potential. The unknown is what makes people sit up and take notice. A talk is just a talk. A sermon is only a sermon. But a story…that's powerful, mysterious stuff.
What are the mystery boxes you have at camp? (and don't say "food!") The daily schedule can be a mystery box. The walk-on skit during lunch can be a mystery box. Put a plant on the stage at camp and it's just a plant. Cover the plant with a sheet and you've got something mysterious and wonderful.
To me…the best mystery box of all is the face of that camper on the very first day. The face of potential. The face of hope. The face of infinite possibility.
Having all the answers all the time isn't what it's cracked up to be. Never underestimate the power of a little mystery.
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