Queen of the Damned Gets Saved: Anne Rice Sinks Her Teeth Into Jesus

Read an interesting article today on Anne Rice - most known for her fictional works involving the occult and a ten-book vampire series (which included "Interview With the Vampire"). Apparently, not much has been heard from Anne in the past 2 years since her last book was published (which broke her pace of 25 books in 25 years). Her next novel is quite a departure from the fangoria of past; it will be a story told in first person narrative, by Jesus, about his childhood and life.

"Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt" will be a fictional account of Jesus' childhood, and will draw on on accounts in a variety of sources - ranging from Scripture to the apocrypha to other fictional accoutns of his life. In a recent interview, Anne calls Jesus the "ultimate supernatural hero...the ultimate immortal of them all" and states unequivocally that her work may not be of interest to past fans given the change of content, stating, "I promised that from now on I would only write things for the Lord."

In all honesty, I know nothing about Anne Rice's books. I've never read one, I many never still, but I was really intrigued by the article. I guess two things struck me the most. First, it's obvious that only a real encounter with God would make Anne, a woman with a well-established career in fiction, really change her subject of expertise so dramatically at the risk of serious rejection in her field. Second, altough I am totally glad that she has evidently come into a real genuine faith in God, I almost found myself cringing to think that she might become a sort of "poster hero" in Christian circles.

There is a tendency for celebrities that are Christians to be, well, unfairly pressured to use their influence to "spread the gospel." Don't get me wrong on this; I rejoice for and with Anne. And Mel. And even that Baldwin brother (I think). But when I hear a statement like, "I promised to only write things for the Lord," my reaction is: well, why not just live for Him period. Do everything for the Lord, but realize that any life lived in relationship with him is extraordinary, regardless of what that looks like. Live authentically in your profession as a follwer of Christ. I don't expect Anne to become the "savior" of the industry, and I don't want her to - unless that's really what He has for her. I don't assume it is. Write whatever the heck you want to, and do it as worship to Him. Don't get caught in the trap of "now that I'm a Christian, I should only write books about Jesus." If that's what you want, then great - but as I was reading the article, I could almost feel the cringe of Christendom saying, "Now you must convert all those you lead astray with your vampire nonsense!"

Frankly, if I had to call it right now, this book stands a good chance of flopping - because it is not a canonical account of Jesus life (which will cause a stink in Christian circles) and will be such a departure from the usual goth-thriller that former fans will pass it up. Although I'll be happy if the book is a success, I hope that regardless of its reviews, Anne can simply be herself in the joy she has found, and that the book will remain a true expression of her worship and faith. I can celebrate with her in that - and frankly, I can celebrate with her regardless of future books or bestsellers.

Heck, maybe Anne hasn't been so far off in the past anyway; blood that brings eternal life. If it worked in her books about vampires, maybe it'll be a hit in her books about Jesus.

(Sidenote)The Federal Vampire and Zombie Angecy has brought to my attention that the Christian religion has really misrepresented vampires in the past. Maybe Anne can make amends for that in her future works.

Coconut Cream Pie

"I know, I'll have the guts someday. Tonight - I have a deadline to meet with the newspaper."

This had been my response to what I had just seen, and I meant it; it was already late, and my page layouts were well behind the next day's deadline. Whether I imagined it or had been shown it by Father, the image was very clear: I was standing on the retaining wall of the fountain in our college town's local shopping center, and I was boldly declaring something having to go with God. Who knows what I was declaring, but I was so intense about what I was saying that I looked like a little kid - totally engrossed in telling everyone about the coolest thing ever. All I could see was me, standing on the fountain wall, speaking intensely. Lately, in the middle of worship, I had seen or imagined several different images of this sort. Whether they were "visions" or just my imagination in heartfelt worship, I didn't really know. Regardless, they left the same basic impression: I knew that I was totally loved by my Father as His child, but that He was drawing me to something... more. I was totally accepted, but there were things He wanted to do with me that involved risks I wasn't willing to take yet.

This time though, what was troubling is that I distinctly felt like God wanted me to actually go do this. Go stand on the fountain? Declare... something? About You? It made me anxious and awkward just thinking about it, let alone considering that it was actually something He wanted me to do. I knew it wasn't about performing some amazing feat of faith or proving my obedience - I already knew that, despite my screw-ups and lack of faith, He loved me completely anyway. It was the sense that there was even more He wanted me to share with Him, but it was at the cost of stepping outside of my own control and fully into His. Bottom line: it was about trust, and frankly, I wasn't quite ready to totally trust Him. As surprising as this seemed, I knew it was true, and this thought quietly bothered me as my friend drove us back to campus from the service.

Thankfully, the assistant editor for my section also went to the same church, so I had an accomplice to make a hasty retreat back to the journalism office. As she parked the car outside of the building, I rationalized that the vision must have been symbolic of a responsiveness He was slowly drawing me into, and not intended for me to actually take action on. Some part of me knew that even if I was wrong, the business of deadlines and editing would soon wipe away the nagging discomfort, and I probably wouldn't remember it tomorrow. As I reached for the door handle, my friend's voice interrupted this semi-conscious thought.

"Listen, I don't want to be weird or anything, and I have no idea what's really going on with you - but for whatever it's worth, I really feel like God's saying you're at a crossroad with some decision right now, and the outcome of what you decide is going to impact your life for... a long time to come. I may be way off, but I just really feel like I am supposed to tell you that before we go in."

"Interesting," I thought. Surely it was a coincidence. There must have been some other important decision that I was facing... something related to an article, or a class, or a friend in crisis...

...but nothing else came to mind.

"Hm." I said. "I guess... well, it's not weird you would say that at all. I need to go do something, and I'll be back in a little while."

"Are you okay," she said? "You're not going to go try to fly off of a building or something like that?"

"No, no. I'll be fine. There's just something I need to do, and... yeah. I'll be fine. Finish up the proof-reading for the articles that came in today, and when I get back, we'll figure out the layout."

I took the car, and began the short drive to the local shopping center where the fountain was. "Okay God, what's the deal? You want to get my attention? Fine." I was so scared I was almost angry. What was the deal? What was the point? "You really want me to go preach on the fountain at 10 o'clock on a Sunday night? Okay."

As I drove, I realized how much this theme of stepping out of my comfort zone had been coming up with me and God. It was like He wanted to show me this great thing or place, but in order to get there, I had to hike with Him over all the crap that I was most afraid of... especially, giving Him total control of me and my life. It wasn't even in the big things, but just the small nudges I got from Him prompting me to call someone, or go somewhere, or drop what I was doing to really listen to Him. I was caught in the tension of desperately wanting to know and experience what He had for me, but being too afraid to really let go and just let Him take me there. I parked, sat for a minute, and knew that it had to change. "Whatever you want me to do... that's fine. I just want everything You have for me, and I don't want to be held back by my fear anymore. I trust You."

I grabbed my bible, and as I started walking to the fountain, I noticed no one was around. Score. It would still be weird, but giving a little pep talk on the fountain would be a lot easier with no one watching. As I got closer though, it looked like there was a little girl sitting on the fountain wall... reading a book? Alone? At 10 o'clock on a Sunday night?

I had been needing to get glasses for distance vision, but was even more convinced when I got close enough to realize the girl was a bronze statue. I had never seen it before, and since I went down there often, it couldn't have been there more than a week or two. I walked up to the girl, who, despite being a lifeless statue, was obviously enjoying the book. Sitting down next to her, I saw the book actually had a story printed on it that looked like it was about a hedgehog...named Lawrence. I had to bend over to read the first page, which was just visible under the two pictures on top.

Lawrence by Janet Morgan Stoeke
"Lawrence would like to be brave. But he's not. Scary things are always happening to him. So he often stays safely at home, even though he would rather be out having his favorite desert at the cafe.

One day, Lawrence's yearning for coconut cream pie makes him overcome his shyness. As he sits down to eat his pie, things happen beyone Lawrence's wildest expectations. But he's too busy with his desert to notice."

The book was open to the two pictures that followed, ending the story.





A scared Hedgehog named Lawrence. This couldn't be coincidence. When I was a child, my family lived in England for three years. For no good reason, I became obsessed with Hedgehogs when we lived there. I just thought they were the coolest animals; my two best friends and I even tried to rescue a distressed hedgehog once, removing his ticks and trying to feed him. We even called the hedgehog hotline at St. Tiggywinkles, which was kind of like a vet that specialized in hedgehogs and badgers. Whenever he was touched, he would curl up into a prickly ball... but if you cradled him and rocked him gently, he would slowly uncurl and run around. We named him Prince.

My coconut cream pie was God, plain and simple. And if I would just get out of the house and press through my fears, I would enjoy the love He had for me like nothing else.

There was still no one around. I stood on the fountain wall, next to the girl, and had no idea what to say. It felt very awkward to be standing there, and even more awkward not knowing what to "boldly declare." With a nervous shrug, I decided to open my bible and read the first thing I came to. I tried to read it as boldly as I could, but it felt like a whisper.

"Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy."

I kept reading out loud, and decided I would just read the chapter. As I was nearing the end, I noticed someone was walking towards the fountain, slowly. She arrived just as I finished Habakuk 3. I looked at her, gave a nod, and said, "How's it goin?"

We both nodded slowly, and silently acknowledged it was an awkward moment.

"Good," she said. "What are you reading?"

"The bible," I said, as nonchalantly as I could.

"That's cool. So...do you come here often to read out loud... on the fountain?

"No, first time. I just really felt like it was something I was supposed to do tonight. Kind of weird, I know." I didn't really feel awkward anymore, even though I was still standing on the fountain, holding my bible out.

"Well, I think that's really cool," she said genuinely.

"Thanks," I said, stepping off of the fountain and knowing I had finished what I needed to do.

We traded names and goodnights, and went our separate ways. She was a student and a Christian at the same college, and although that was the only time we really ever spoke, I occasionally saw her around. I also later found out from my friends that her freshmen year, she had stood up in our cafeteria and told everyone God loved them one day- she took a lot of flack from Christians and non-Christians after that.

I felt deeply at peace as I walked back to my car, and realized my fear had almost kept me from even considering going to the fountain earlier. I was so glad that I had, and almost had to laugh. He knew... He knew.

The coconut cream pie has been more than worth it ever since.

Best. Performance. Ever.

I'm not a real "concert person." I knew plenty of people in high school and college that would scour ticketmaster like vultures, and then drop a few hundred bucks for the priviledge of driving 10 hours to see someone sing a dozen songs. This never made sense to me. Even in the height of my high school Billy Joel obsession, I never saw him in concert - and I'm okay with that. Concerts tend to be a lot of hassle, and can easily dissapoint; usually you paid way too much money for a seat that is too far away, or - if you're like me - you start to grow increasingly uncomfortable with the "star worship" that is taking place. It's kind of creepy, and usually makes me feel very empty. And constipated. So maybe the two aren't connected.

All that to say, last night I saw Martin Sexton in concert at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano with my wife and dear friend Andrew Brumme. Words cannot describe the talent, people. Martin Sexton gave the best live performance I have ever seen, and might have more raw talent in one of his boogers than I will ever hope to have in this lifetime. He was unpretentious, real, raw, and sang like a kid having the best time of his life. There were at least a dozen times when I sat in my seat with my jaw dropped in sheer disbelief at the beauty in the music. It was the kind of excellence that, rather than making me want to worship his talent, made me worship God - because I was in utter amazement that He could create a voice like that.

I really can't say much more, or I'd be cheating the experience. Although it's not the same, I did load some music from Martin's most recent album (Live Wide Open) into the stereo system for you to listen to. Just click here, or go look in the menu under "Living Room: Stereo System."

If you don't have time to listen to everything, be sure to catch "Black Sheep" and "In The Journey."