Disconnected Connections Message: Cast: Costume: Set: Props: Getting connected, associating with other Christians. The importance of cultivating Christian friends, and of knowing that the true source of our power is God. 5 ladies standard plain an electrical cord, two short pieces of water hose, a short cable or rope Sound & lighting: standard Time: 12 minutes Script: actors come on stage So anyhow, this guy says, Which way to Toledo? Nancy laughs hysterically, all others look on in embarrassed discomfort 2: Very good, Nancy! Anyyyhoowwwww. So, like I was saying, gals, what we need here is to get all connected. OK now let s get with it! 3: OK, see here I have this hose and we can just link it up.. 4: Yes, and I have this cable here so if we... 2: A coupling, that s what we need. 3: But what I have here is a water hose.. 4: Yes, and I have a steel cable. 2: I m not real sure that there is a coupler to connect a water hose and a steel cable. But on the other hand... Nancy stares off into space, pointing off-stage, all actors watch her 2: Yes, Nancy, we are waiting... on the other hand... what? Disconnected Connections Page 1
4, moves hand in front of Nancy s eyes: I think Nancy is deep in thought. 3: And for Nancy that s uncharted territory. I was just thinking... on the other hand.. are different fingers. 3: Don t think Nancy, you could hurt yourself! 2: Fine then, maybe this will work, I have this electrical cord here, I mean it works well when I plug it into the wall. 4: I think you may be on to something 2. Much better than this steel cable is my guess. 3: Maybe that electrical cable and this water hose could.. Speaking of water, did you ever wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges? 3: Nancy, did anyone ever tell you that you were like diagonally parked in a parallel universe? 2: OK now then, if I take this electrical cord and I plug it into that water hose... 4: What s that warning label on the electrical cable? 2: Likely nothing important, you know how those safety people are. 4:, reads: Says, Danger. Avoid dangerous shocks. Keep away from wet or damp areas. 2: Nine chances out of ten that could be like water hoses likely. Did you know that 53.9% of all statistics are made up on the spot? 2: Nancy, you will never likely know how much I appreciated that insight. 4: Just wait a minute, what if we try something else? Actually a minute can go on forever, or it can seem to go by just like that, (snaps fingers). 3: You know, you are right Nancy, guess it depends on your view of things. Disconnected Connections Page 2
Nope! How long a minute is depends which side of the bathroom door you are on. 3: Just for a second there I almost thought something you said had relevance. 4: Fine so how do we get connected then? I got this water hose... 2: Here, here s another water hose. 3: Now we are getting somewhere! Water hose to water hose, how good is that? 4: Quick, let s get at it, hook them together, see what happens. 2: Like my old dad used to say, Early bird gets the worm. But the second mouse gets the cheese. 2: I wonder if it will make any difference that these two water hoses are different sizes? 3: Nah, I mean it s all water hose after all. 4: We will need more hose. 2: No problem, Walmart are lowering prices on hose. Ever wonder why, with Walmart lowering prices everyday, that things are still never free? 4: You know, I don t think this is going to work. I mean, we have two water hoses, but they are different sizes, so there s no connection there. 3: And the electrical cable and the water hose didn t connect. 2: Neither did the steel cable and the water hose. 4: I got it! If we had two pieces of water hose the same size, then that would immediately connect. 3: You are right, that should be fool-proof! Nothing is really fool-proof to a talented fool. 4: Here we go then, here we have two pieces of hose, same size. Disconnected Connections Page 3
2, 3 and 4 high five 2: All right, got it made in the shade! 4: So if we were to just put this hose up tight against that hose.. 3: They would just fall apart is what. 2: How do you figure this? 4: Let s think about this. We had the electrical cable and the water hose, and they didn t connect. 2: Neither did the steel cable and the water hose. 4: And two pieces of water hose the same size wouldn t connect. 3: Now even though we have two pieces of water hose the same size they won t connect. 4: Hard to figure what to make of all this. Elementary really. 2: Elementary? Yep. 3: Scary though it sounds, would you care to elaborate Nancy? Well, it is pretty obvious that there are great differences between electrical cable and steel cable. 4: Guess you are right on that. And same with electrical cable and water hose. 2: How so? Electrical cable is designed to conduct the flow of electricity, to transport it from one place to another. So when the electricity is flowing, say from the wall plug to a radio, this is a good thing, we have a connection. 3: You know, that really does make sense. Disconnected Connections Page 4
And as for hose, well, it is designed for the distribution and carriage of liquids. Expanding on that, water hose is, as the name implies, meant for distribution and carriage of water. 2: Wow, Nancy, I am impressed! At this point we are dealing strictly in basic concepts; an in-depth consideration will go well beyond entry level concepts. 4: Nancy, have you been hiding all this... knowledge. You are speaking with a highly trained logistics professional here. 4: Wow, so it would seem. Your expectation that successful application would be accomplished simply through accessing two hoses of like size is basically flawed. The simple utilization of identical items holds no promise of accomplishment. 2: Huh? To properly transmit from one hose to the other a properly sized connector is required. 3: Excellent! So now if we have a connector like this one, the right type and size, and the two pieces of hose, then we will be in business, right? We in the industry always suggest a trial. Fasten the two hoses together through the coupler, view the results. actors hook two hoses together, look with anticipation at the end of the hose 4: Nothing. While you have fulfilled the demands of connection, you have yet to establish a source of input. 3: Source of input? 2: For water? What s a source for water? Nancy, overwhelmed: Water... perhaps like.. a water tap? 2: Why didn t we think of that Nancy? Disconnected Connections Page 5
actors attach hose to tap, (this may be just off stage, unseen, 3 goes off-stage holding end of hose and then comes back on stage 2: There, its hooked up to the tap. actors watch end of hose, upset when nothing happens 4: Still not working! Guess you were wrong Nancy. Nancy, annoyed: Moi? A fluids logistic expert, wrong? I think not! 4: Sorry. Then why isn t the water coming out? This may be a bit of a stab in the dark, 2, but when you connected to the tap did you happen to turn on said tap? 2: Ooops. 3: OK then, so it seems to me we are getting somewhere here. You being the professional here, perhaps you could recap for us Nancy. Very well, listen up. First we need to remember that in order to be connected we must be of the same intended use pattern. 4: Gotcha, like not mixing up electrical cords and water pipes. And we have to conform to the same general makeup and intent. 3: That would be like having all the hose of a size to connect together. And finally, to have a successful connection we need to understand that the power comes from the source. 2: Not do like I did, forget to connect to an operating source. 4: Nancy, that is amazing! You know, I have really learned a lot from you about living a connected Christian life. 3: I don t understand. What has water pipes got to do with living a connected Christian life? 4: Elementary, really. In order to live a connected Christian life we first need to be sure we are connected to other Christians. 2: Well, that is true, we will always come to a point where we need to lean on other Christians for help and support. Disconnected Connections Page 6
4: And our Christian walk will be so much more strong and effective if our core group of friends have Christian beliefs and morals. 3: You know, that s one of the reasons I feel so blessed in having you guys as friends. 4: And more than anything else, we need to remember that we don t operate in our own strength. It is our direct connection to the power of God that sees us through and motivates our lives. 3: And to think, it was Nancy who gave us these great insights! 2: I agree! Do you have any other gems we should know Nancy? Well, like we need to remember that a day without sunshine is like.. night. 3: Huh? Or that in spite of the cost of living it sure stays popular. 2: I think its time we leave. Borrow money from a pessimist, he won t expect to get it back. 4: I guess there was just someone living in Nancy s body for a little while. She s back! actors start to leave stage, Nancy is last off stage, talking as she goes He who laughs last thinks slowest..... I intend to live forever, so far so good. end Disconnected Connections Page 7